IRLF 


LIBRARY 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA. 


GIFT    OF 


C/tfSS 


By  Z.  WITHERS 


/ 


OUR 
INHERITANCE 


By  Z.  WITHERS 
Author  of  "Slavery  Days" 


(    UNIVERSITY 
X  OF 


Tribune  Publishing  Co.  Print 

Oakland,  Cal. 

1909 


To 

HON.  JAMES  B.  FORAKER 

United  States  Senator 

THE  FRIEND  OF  MY  RACE,  BECAUSE  THE  FRIEND 
OF  MANKIND 

THIS  ESSAY,  WHICH  ARGUES  FOR  THE 
RIGHTS  OF  MY  PEOPLE  BEFORE  AN 
UNBIASED  and  JUST  AMERICAN  PUBLIC, 
IS  REGARDFULLY,  GRATEFULLY 
INSCRIBED 

£v  THE  AUTHOR 


1   .u 

(f 


Copyright  Applied  For 


FOREWORD. 

rHE  author  of  this  contribution  foreswears  the 
thought  of  a  single  line  of  malice,  hatred,  or  preju 
dice.  In  the  simple  spirit  of  honest y,  which  should 
govern  the  motives  and  principles  of  mankind,  I  herewith 
present  the  subject — Our  Inheritance — that  in  this  day 
of  our  triumphant  march  towards  wealth,  education  and 
power,  we  shall  not  forget  the  trials  and  sacrifices  of  our 
noble  forefathers,  who  bequeathed  to  its  this  estate. 

We  who  accept  it  as  our  home  and  country  are  respon 
sible  as  grantees  of  the  estate  and  arc  bound  by  the  lazvs 
of  civilization  to  transmit  it  to  our  posterity  more  ad 
vanced,  freer  and  nobler.  To  promote  the  welfare  of  her 
citizens,  to  increase  the  greatness  of  her  power,  to  remedy 
wrongs,  to  insure  justice  to  all  men,  is  a  mandate  correla 
tive  with  the  exercise  of  authority,  which  becomes  a 
responsibility  of  the  nation. 

In  accepting  the  grant,  all  questions  pertaining  to  it, 
whether  political,  social  or  moral,  are  a  part  of  the  estate, 
and  we  are  constrained  by  the  laws  of  inheritance  to 
concede  their  standing  and  to  deal  with  them  in  the  same 
high  sense  of  reason  as  we  have  dealt  with  every  question 
that  has  confronted  the  nation. 

Slavery  was  a  constitutional  question  and  a  grave  moral 
wrong.  It  was  one  of  such  enormity  that  it  shook  the 
foundation  of  the  Republic.  Like  the  winds'  of  a  fierce 
hurricane,  the  war  of  '6r  smote  the  tree  of  human  bond 
age  and  on  its  mighty  apc.r  it  swayed  and  fell ;  but  re- 


maining  was  its  firm  root  of  two  centuries  growth.  Hence 
the  spread  of  Jim  Crozvisin,  or  the  living  spirit  of  slavery, 
springs  from  its  live,  but  submerged,  foundation.  There 
fore,  as  freeholders  of  the  estate  we  must  deal  with 
the  question  of  Jim  Crowism  as  a  result  of  slavery: 
which,  as  a  moral  blight,  affects  the  character  of  the 
Nation  as  an  incentive  to  lawlessness.  Then  let  Truth  be 
our  guide  and  Justice  our  motto,  that  we  may  bequeath 
tc  the  distant  man  a  home  and  a  country  not  cursed  zuith 
slave-ridden  statutes,  but  rich  in  its  splendor  of  freedom 
and  happiness.  Yours  truly, 

Z.    WITHERS. 


The  Estate 


Chapter  I. 

BOUNDED  on  one  side  by  the  Atlantic  Ocean,  and 
on  the  other  by  the  Pacific,  extending  far  into  the 
Asiatic  waters  as  far  north  as  Alaska  and  south  to  Pan 
ama,  we  have  a  grand  country,  over  which  floats  a  noble 
flag.  Rich  are  her  blessings  of  wealth,  freedom  and  op 
portunities.  Her  agriculture  in  a  single  year  nearly  ex 
ceeds  the  world's  crop.  ''Agricultural  products,  1905, 
$1,899,379,652."  Her  factories  are  crowding  those  of 
Europe  and  Asia  combined.  "Manufactured  products, 
1907,  $15.000,000,000";  and  besides,  there  are  teeming 
millions  from  her  mineral  yield.  "'Mineral  yield,  1907, 
$1,872.312,449."  Pier  vast  economic  growth  is  mar 
velous.  She  has  254,076  schools,  207,707  churches, 
6,043  national  banks  and  328,000  miles  of  railroad.  Her 
population  being  80,000,000,  she  has  wealth  per  capita 
to  the  amount  of  $1,310.11. 

Why  should  not  the  American  citizen  be  proud  ? 
Proud  of  his  ancestry,  his  liberty,  his  country's  wealth 
and  its  opportunities?  Commanding  the  eminence  of  the 
western  world,  she  commands  all  nations  to  know  that 
there  is  a  "Monroe  Doctrine,"  which  prescribes  a  fitting 
line  between  monarchial  and  republican  forms  of  gov 
ernment.  In  accepting  this  legacy  as  a  freeholder  of  the 
estate,  or  as  an  American  citizen,  we  contract  to  maintain 
both  the  letter  and  the  spirit  of  her  constitution,  which 
provides  ''Life,  liberty  and  pursuit  of  happiness  to  every 
citizen."  This  condition  is  implied  in  our  declaration  of 


8  Our  Inheritance. 

citizenship :  to  live  under  her  laws  of  government  and  to 
accept  her  protection.  The  question  of  slavery  was  a 
constitutional  question  and  was  appended  to  the  grant, 
being  one  of  the  great  sociologic  questions  of  the  day. 
Greely's  American  Conflict,  Ch.  11,  pp.  9,  41-49.  The 
result  of  slavery  was  the  beginning  of  debased  public 
opinion,  which  brought  with  it  a  lawless  spirit,  notwith 
standing  our  advance  in  science,  literature,  art,  commerce 
and  education. 

The  original  Declaration  of  Independence,  as  was 
framed  by  Mr.  Jefferson,  was  against  slavery.  The 
declaration  of  universal  freedom  and  independence  in 
cluded  all  men.  The  opinion  of  the  majority  to  the 
convention  was  opposed  to  slavery  as  immoral  and 
against  the  institution  of  free  government.  Even  Vir 
ginia  had  at  this  time  prohibitive  slavery,  there  being 
but  60,000  slaves  then  on  her  soil.  But  South  Carolina 
and  Georgia,  with  pro-slavery  delegates,  were  obstinate 
and  declared  "No  slaves,  no  Union."  Thus  at  the  most 
critical  period  of  the  Nation's  history,  when  the  union  of 
the  colonies  was  so  imperative  that  the  new  government 
would  have  been  a  failure  with  one  absent  member, 
slavery  was  tolerated  as  a  measure  of  diplomacy,  not 
withstanding  the  righteous  spirit  of  the  framers  of  this 
wonderful  compact  and  their  bitterness  against  the  na 
tional  evil.  The  following  is  the  indictment  of  George  III, 
then  the  British  Sovereign,  as  a  patron  and  upholder  of 
African  slave  trade,  embodied  by  Mr.  Jefferson  in  his 
original  draft  of  the  Declaration :  "Determined  to  keep 


The  Estate.  9 

open  a  market  where  men  should  be  bought  and  sold, 
he  has  prostituted  his  negative  for  suppressing  every 
legislative  attempt  to  prohibit  or  to  restrain  this  execrable 
commerce,  and  that  this  assembly  of  horrors  might  want 
no  fact  of  distinguished  die,  he  is  now  exciting  those 
very  people  to  rise  in  arms  among  us.  and  purchase  that 
liberty  of  which  he  has  deprived  them,  by  murdering  the 
people  on  whom  he  also  obtruded  them,  thus  paying  off 
former  crimes  committed  against  the  liberties  of  one  peo 
ple,  with  crimes  which  he  urges  them  to  commit  against 
the  lives  of  another."  Mr.  Jefferson  in  his  autobiography 
gives  the  following  reason  for  the  omission  of  this  re 
markable  passage  from  the  Declaration  as  adopted,  issued 
and  published.  "The  clause,  too,  reprobating  the  enslav 
ing  of  the  inhabitants  of  Africa,  was  struck  out  in  compli 
ance  with  South  Carolina  and  Georgia,  which  had  never 
attempted  to  restrain  the  importation  of  slaves."  Govern 
ments  on  earth  are  institutions  of  mankind,  and  reforms 
and  abuses  are  results  of  his  nature.  Thus,  handed 
down  to  us  was  the  government,  or,  estate,  by  our  fault 
less  forefathers.  Following  in  a  direct  line,  the  violence 
of  today  is  but  the  wrong  of  yesterday.  In  the  heated 
passions  of  abolition  agitation,  the  world  was  given 
the  spectacle  of  open  violence.  Disregarding  the  laws, 
mobism  prompted  law-breakers.  It  became  legal  to  mob 
and  lynch  before  the  days  of  "The  Conflict." 

The  great  speech  of  immortal  Lincoln  sheds  much  light 
on  the  age  of  which  we  refer.  In  1837,  before  the  Spring 
field,  111.,  Lyceum,  Air.  Lincoln  was  observable  and  spoke 


K)  Our  I nhc-  ilcincc. 

of  free  institutions.  We  will  quote  extracts.  "At  wh'it 
point  shall  we  expect  danger?  Shall  we  expect 
some  trans-Atlantic  military  giant  to  step  the  ocean  an:! 
crush  us  at  a  blow?  Never!  All  the  armies  of  Europe, 
Asia  and  Africa  combined,  with  all  the  treasures  of  the 
earth  (our  own  excepted)  in  their  military  chest,  with  a 
Bonaparte  for  a  commander,  could  not  take  a  drink  from 
the  O'.iio,  or  make  a  track  on  the  !>lne  Ridge,  in  a  trial 
of  a  thousand  years.  At  what  point,  then,  is  this 
approach  of  danger  to  be  expected?  1  answer,  if  ever 
it  reaches  us  it  must  spring1  up  among  us.  It  cannot 
come  from  abroad.  If  destruction  be  our  lot,  we  must 
ourselves  be  the  author  and  finisher.  As  a  nation  of 
free  men,  we  must  live  through  all  time  or  die  by  suicide. 
There  is  even  now  something  of  ill-omen  amongst  us.  I 
mean  the  increasing  disregard  for  law  which  pervades 
t'.ic  country,  the  disposition  to  substitute  the  wild  and 
furious  passions  in  lieu  of  sober  judgment  of  the  courts 
and  the  worse  than  savage  mobs  for  the  executive  minis 
ters  of  justice.  This  disposition  is  awfully  fearful  in  any 
community,  and  that  it  now  exists  in  ours,  though  grating 
to  our  feelings  to  admit  it,  it  would  be  a  violation  of 
truth  and  folly  to  deny. 

"Accounts  of  outrages  committed  by  mobs  form  the 
every  day  news  of  the  times.  They  have  pervaded  the 
country  from  New  England  to  Louisiana;  they  are 
neither  peculiar  to  the  eternal  snows  of  the  former,  nor 
the  burning  sun  of  the  latter.  They  are  not  the  creatures 
of  climate,  neither  are  they  confined  to  the  slave  hold- 


The  Estate.  11 

ing  or  non-slave  holding-  states.  Alike  they  spring  up 
among  the  pleasure  hunting-  masters  of  the  southern 
slaves  and  the  order  loving-  citizens  of  the  land  of  steady 
habits.  Whatever,  then  their  causes  may  be,  it  is  com 
mon  to  the  whole  country.'' 

I  will  refer  again  to  Greely's  American  Conflict,  page 
449,  Chap.  19,  Vol.  1.  Wherein  we  see  the  ascendency 
of  mobs  and  the  terrible  rise  of  lawlessness,  the  appeal 
of  traitors  and  the  song  of  disunion.  Following  this 
line,  you  will  see  the  cause  of  our  President's  assassina 
tion.  To  be  a  President  of  the  United  States,  is  to  run 
the  hazards  of  death.  To  have  wealth  induces  cynical 
hostility.  To  be  born  a  Negro  often  means  disfranchise- 
nient,  Jim  Crowism,  out-lawry  and  the  stake.  The  aim  at 
the  President's  life  is  the  blow  at  all  society.  Its  de 
struction  and  annihilation  is  attempted.  The  epithets 
hurled  at  wealth  emphasizes  the  latent  spirit  of  deep 
class  hatred.  The  blow  to  the  Negro  is  the  triumph  of 
hate — a  culmination  of  the  greatest  wrong  the  world 
lias  ever  known.  What  is  the  cause  of  this?  Lawless 
ness  begets  lawlessness.  You  cannot  have  a  Jim  Crow 
system  for  one  class  of  citizens  and  a  free  government 
for  another.  As  the  flow  of  blood  circulates  through  the 
human  body,  so  also  does  public  sentiment  course  through 
our  body  politic.  One  drop  of  poison  will  pervade  the 
whole  system.  Now,  behold !  the  low  respiration  of  high 
public  sentiment.  The  faint  throb  of  the  heart  of  pure 
motives !  No  longer  doeth  it  beat  at  normal !  No 
longer  its  tender  thoughts  are  the  cherished  sentiments 


12  Our  Inheritance. 

of  the  weak !  No  longer  is  its  strength  the  noble  spirit 
of  patriotic  freedom !  Statesmen  cease  to  clamor  for  the 
cause  of  the  just!  They  cry  no  more  in  the  spirit  of  Gar 
rison,  Philips,  Beecher,  Clay,  Douglass,  Whittier,  John 
Brown ;  nor  in  that  of  any  of  the  world's  emancipators ; 
nor,  out  of  the  depths  of  patriotism,  do  they  emulate  our 
Patrick  Henry,  George  Washington,  or  their  compatriots, 
who  cried  aloud  for  the  just  cause  of  God!  Water  seeks 
its  level.  With  poison  there  must  come  an  epidemic. 
Alas!  O  God,  is  the  nation  in  the  throes  of  murder? 
The  disease  of  lawlessness,  like  an  avalanche,  carries 
away  the  pillars  of  the  Nation !  And  now  life  is  as  un 
certain  as  the  storm-swept  ship  of  the  ocean !  Presi 
dent  Lincoln  was  assassinated  to  propitiate  the  animosity 
of  the  Slave  King !  Garfield  died  of  a  ghastly  wound ; 
another  glaring  deed  of  lawless  shame.  Thus  the  sweep 
of  lawless  hate  leaves  death  in  its  wake !  The  nation 
hows  her  head  in  sorrow  at  the  ascendency  of  bitter 
caste.  Again  the  triumph  of  Death!  Our  greatest 
statesman,  William  McKinley,  assassinated !  He  died 
to  appease  the  hellish  passion  of  the  lawless  element  for 
bloocl !  The  anarchist  alas  !  Ah,  step  by  step  the  highest 
monument  in  crime  is  reached ! 

THE  ANARCHIST. 

He  dark  and  cold  and  chilled  in  vein, 

The  mind  of  anarchism  his  mein ; 
Too  black  his  countenance  to  see 

The  Noble  Image  of  Liberty. 


The  Estate.  13 

In  this  land  where  men  are  free, 

Their  lives  to  live  in  prosperous  way. 

There  can  be  none,  but  reprobate 
Who  would  murder,  or  assassinate ! 

Thy  dull  cause  many  years  has  grown, 

And  seed  seditious  has  been  sown. 
The  difference  twixt  thee  and  right 

Doth  mark  the  passion  of  thy  stiife. 

Like  wormwood  bitter  as  the  gall, 

Thou'st  chased  the  empty  thought  of  hate ; 

And  bitterness  shall  turn  to  thee 
The  crowning  of  thy  hapless  fate. 

But  oh!  this  ghastly  horror!  Blind,  dead,  insensible 
man!  O,  Heavens,  withhold  thy  light!  O,  God,  withhold 
Thy  wrath  !  Look  not  upon  this  beastial  scene !  Chained 
to  a  stake!  Writhing  in  the  torture  of  his  pain!  Face 
aglare  emitting  the  anguish  of  his  suffering  soul,  while 
fiercer  the  fires  of  Hell  destroy  his  living  body !  Now  a 
cheering  crowd  gloats  in  triumph !  They  cheer  and 
laugh  and  shout  in  ejaculations  of  praise  at  this  grew- 
some  crime !  This  convention  of  murderers  is  the  tri 
umph  of  slavery's  two  centuries  of  lawless  reign.  Aghast 
stands  the  Goddess  of  Liberty  at  this  ignoble  deed.  But 
lawlessness  by  this  act  gains  new  impetus ;  it  is  stimu 
lated  thereby  to  become  more  prevalent  and  the  criminal 
thirst  of  its  perpetrators  grows  stronger  and  more  acute. 


14 


The  deed,  the  scene,  the  picture  with  a  flash  reaches  the 
homes  of  a  thousand  million  people  of  the  civilized  world 
and  on  the  minds  of  these  masses  is  the  character  of 
the  American  negro  painted  as  black  as  the  dismal  walls 
of  hell,  while  that  of  his  white  brother  is  held  aloft  as 
the  image  of  purity,  courage  and  strength.  Shall  the 
world's  greatest  agencies  of  usefulness,  electricity  and 
the  press  which  has  steadily  advanced  the  onward  march 
of  progress,  be  the  ^trong  influence  to  obliterate  the 
Negro's  freedom  ?  The  field  of  crime  is  amazing.  In 
the  industrial  strikes,  the  same  spirit  pervades  the  throng. 
They  are  willing  to  burn  your  property,  destroy  your 
railroads,  your  factories  and  your  cities.  They  awe  the 
police  power  and  laugh  at  the  militia.  In  the  great 
A.  1\.  \J.  strike  in  Chicago  (1894)  the  civil  authorities 
were  helpless.  One  act  of  lawlessness  succeeded  another. 
Trains  loaded  with  merchandise,  one  after  another,  were 
burned.  Obstructions  were  placed  upon  the  railroad 
right-of-way.  Even  cars  were  overturned  to  blockade  the 
traffic.  Trains  carrying  innocent  people  were  stoned 
and  their  inmates  injured.  Everywhere  property  was 
wantonly  and  recklessly  destroyed.  Who  did  it?  The 
moli.  Business  of  every  sort  was  crippled.  The  loss 
to  business  interests,  not  including  millions  upon  millions 
of  dollars  of  property  destroyed,  was  more  than  two 
hundred  million  dollars.  For  industry  of  every  kind  was 
crippled  throughout  the  United  States  ;  and  the  head  of 
the  nation  was  called  upon  to  restore  law  and  order. 
At  St.  Louis,  during  the  street-car  strike,  we  had  an- 


The  Estate.  15 

other  repetition  of  the  mob.  Police  power  was  helpless 
to  preserve  law  and  order.  For  weeks  the  mobs  held 
the  city,  preventing"  the  lawful  pursuit  of  business. 
Every  citizen  was  inconvenienced  by  this  trouble.  The 
business  interests  suffered.  Their  estimated  losses  were 
more  than  two  hundred  and  fifty  million  dollars. 

In  San  Francisco  car-strike,  we  had  the  same  shameful 
occurrence.  The  mobs  defied  the  police  power.  Obstruc 
tions  were  placed  upon  the  street  car  company's  right-of- 
vvay,  cars  were  wrecked  and  dynamite  was  placed  upon 
the  tracks.  Missiles  were  thrown  from  the  tops  of 
buildings,  which  struck  the  cars  and  injured  and 
even  endangered  the  lives  of  innocent  people. 
Ambulances  were  kept  busy  caring  for  patronizers  of 
the  car  company.  They  even  went  so  far,  this 
lawless  power,  as  to  carry  a  boycott  against  all  per 
sons  who  used  the  cars,  when  such  power  could  be  in 
voked.  Next  we  hear  the  echoes  of  a  frantic  mob  at 
Atlanta,  Georgia.  Like  the  storms  which  sweep  the 
oceans,  we  meet  mob  violence  first,  North,  then  East,  then 
West.  As  we  read  the  bold  type  of  our  daily  press 
throughout  the  land,  we  see  "Race  Riots,"  "Negroes 
Lynched,"  and  similar  headings.  That  is  wrong.  It 
is  mob  riot.  The  same  spirit  appears  here  as  did  at 
San  Francisco,  at  St.  Louis,  and  at  Chicago.  But  now 
it  poses  as  a  protecting  angel  to  defend  the  sanctity  of 
womanhood ;  and  with  torch  and  gun  they  begin  their 
destructiveness.  Homes  are  burned !  Men  are  killed 
in  cold  blood !  Women  are  insulted !  Children  and 


16  Our  Inheritance. 

babies  are  made  homeless  and  fatherless !     Ah !  'tis  the 
hellish  passion  for  murder,  the  thirst  for  blood. 

Again  in  Springfield,  Ohio,  the  mob  rules,  and 
wantonly  wastes  life  and  property.  The  Negro  again, 
left  homeless  and  humiliated,  is  beaten  by  a  fiendish 
horde  of  ruffians.  The  mob  defies  the  police  power. 
Willfully  and  maliciously  they  burn  the  homes  and 
dwellings  of  innocent  people.  Then,  again,  even  in 
Kentucky,  there  was  loss  of  life  and  the  destruc 
tion  of  property.  By  whom?  The  mob.  Even  there,  the 
destruction  of  property  ran  into  millions  of  dollars. 
This  was  a  white  lynching.  They  sought  the  destruction 
of  the  property  of  the  American  Tobacco  Co.,  whose 
offense  was,  that  they  controlled  the  prices  of  tobacco. 
This  is  conclusive  proof  that  mob-rule  has  achieved  more 
power  than  the  courts.  It  abrogates  the  authority  of 
the  courts,  the  states  and  the  Nation.  At  last,  we  see 
the  serene  order  of  peace  and  dignity  upset  in  the  great 
state  of  Illinois ;  and,  at  the  very  seat  of  her  government. 
The  frenzied  fury  of  a  mob  is  awakened !  Casting  aside 
every  semblance  of  piety,  it  breaks  forth  as  doth  vol 
canic  fires,  emitting  their  poisonous  fumes.  Cloud  after 
cloud's  revengeful  fury  rises !  Deeper  and  deeper  the 
fires  of  hatred  burn  until  it  seems  that  the  last  vestige  of 
patriotism,  law  and  order  will  be  obscured.  They  go  so  far 
as  to  desecrate  the  tomb  of  our  noble  patriot,  Abraham 
Lincoln  !  There  the  mob  reaches  the  zenith  of  its  power ! 


The  Negro's  Right  As  a 
Freeholder 


Chapter  II. 

THE  Negro  of  the  United  States  began  his  tenancy  of 
the  soil  as  a  slave  in  1619  when  the  first  slave  ship 
anchored  at  Jamestown  Colony.  By  the  laws  of  slavery 
he  was  declared  an  official  tenant  of  the  soil,  that  is,  he 
was  hound  by  the  laws  of  the  colonies  which  had  slaves, 
to  clear  the  forest,  till  the  soil,  and  plant  the  crops; 
therefore,  he  was  a  tenant  of  the  soil  in  fact,  if  not  in 
law.  At  that  time  he  was  prohibited  from  any  form  of 
rights  as  a  citizen,  being  considered  a  chattel  by  the  laws 
then  existing. 

The  laws  that  subsequently  established  his  rights, 
notably  the  14th  and  15th  amendments  to  the  Constitu 
tion,  did  not  create  them.  His  rights  existed  before 
the  proclamation,  or  the  enactment  of  any  laws  with  such 
purpose.  The  fact  that  the  Declaration  of  Independence, 
and  the  Constitution  gave  liberty  to  all  men  was  suffi 
cient  to  make  the  Xegro  a  citizen  as  it  did  every 
nationality  that  lived  in  America.  That  is  why  a  number 
of  states,  called  free  states,  such  as  Rhode  Island,  Con 
necticut,  Massachusetts.  Vermont  and  others  were  so 
named. 

Appendages  were  placed,  or,  attached  to  the  Consti 
tution  to  legalize  slavery,  so  also  became  the  adoption  of 
pro-slavery  clauses  to  state  Constitutions.  Thus,  to  re 
tain  slavery,  subsequent  enactments  were  necessary  to 
the  original  compact.  Therefore,  under  the  fundamental 


20  Our    inheritance. 

laws  of  the  Nation,  or  the  Constitution,  slavery  has  never 
had  a  legal  sanction,  since  the  laws  for  and  against 
slavery  were  mere  appendages  and  not  a  part  of  the 
original  instrument.  Then  the  Negro  is  a  citizen  under 
the  Constitution  ;  therefore,  his  position  as  a  freeholder  in 
the  estate  is  made  on  constitutional  grounds,  notwithstand 
ing  the  unlawful  regime  of  slavery  which  deprived  him 
of  his  constitutional  rights.  They  must  have  existed  prior 
to  the  amendments  that  established  them,  or,  the  laws 
that  created  them  are  unconstitutional.  His  rights  were 
constructive  and  did  exist.  This  theory  is  based  on 
the  principles  of  jurisprudence.  This  fact  is  confirmed  by 
the  14th  and  15th  amendments. 

The  folly  of  class  legislation  is  proven  by  historical 
events.  Such  are  the  laws  that  discriminate  and  create 
classes  against  the  masses.  In  Europe  the  clamoring  for 
centuries  has  been  against  selfish  laws  of  the  aristocracy. 
Men  were  held  in  serfdom  because  of  class  made  laws ; 
therefore,  the  popularity  of  the  colonies  of  the  New 
World  was  heightened  by  the  hope  of  honest  legislation 
and  universal  suffrage.  Thus  it  was  that  the  many  thou 
sands  of  Europeans  came  to  America  to  free  themselves 
from  the  pernicious  rule  of  selfish  government.  The 
Stamp  Act  as  a  reprisal  against  the  British  Colony  in 
Boston  was  an  instance  of  detestable  selfishness.  This  law 
was  created  for  the  interest  of  one  man  against  the  rights 
of  another.  American  impulse  revolted !  Pro-slavery 
laws  were  principles  with  similar  design,  and  again  the 
Nation  revolted!  The  fact  that  class  legislation  was 


The  Negro's  Right  as  a  Freeholder.  21 

subversive  to  the  Constitution,  brought  forth  popular 
agitation  against  it.  Then  followed  "The  Conflict." 

After  dreaded  days  of  four  years'  war,  came  remedial 
legislation  which  established  the  Constitution  over  the  en 
tire  Union.  It  seems  the  lessons  of  history  are  easily  for 
gotten.  For  no  sooner  did  we  become  reconciled  to 
peace  and  industry  than  arose  the  spirit  of  disregard  to 
ward  our  fundamental  law.  Amendments  to  the  Con 
stitution  are  now  superceded  by  Constitutional  amend 
ments  to  state  constitutions,  which  have  a  large  Negro 
population — thus  null  and  void  are  the  Negroes'  rights, 
or  prospective  rights,  under  the  National  law. 

This  discussion  is  clear  in  the  essay  of  Walter  C. 
Hamm  in  the  Review  of  Reviews  Magazine,  March  issue, 
1889.  "'Two  events  of  recent  occurrence  are  accepted  as 
marking  the  beginning  of  a  new  phase  of  the  colored 
suffrage  question  in  this  country.  One  is  the  decison  of 
the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States  affirming  the 
validity  of  the  suffrage  clause  of  the  Mississippi  Consti 
tution.  The  language  of  the  court  was  this:  'Re 
strained  by  the  Federal  Constitution  from  discriminating 
against  the  Negro  as  a  race,  the  Mississippi  Constitutional 
Convention  discriminates  against  its  characteristics  and 
the  offenses  to  which  the  weaker  members  are  prone.'  " 
''The  other  event  is  the  election  of  Nov.  8,  1898,  in 
North  Carolina,  and  the  spirit  of  which  the  result  was 
received  throughout  the  country.  The  election  is  ac 
knowledged  to  have  been  revolutionary  in  its  character, 
but  while  there  is  criticism  of  the  methods  bv  which  the 


22  Our    Inheritance. 

object  was  accomplished,  there  is  no  disposition  mani 
fested  to  interfere  or  to  question  the  permanence  of  the 
result."  "Brute  force  was  chosen  as  the  instrument  for 
securing  white  supremacy.  The  colored  voter  was  in 
timidated  by  the  night  riding  Klu  Klux  Klan  and  fright 
ened  away  from  the  polls  by  threats  on  his  life."  "Ballot 
boxes  were  stu fifed  with  tissue  ballots  and  forgery  on 
tally  sheets  was  freely  committed.  In  this  way  state 
after  state  wras  reclaimed  by  the  Whites."  "The  second 
phase  of  negro  suffrage  began  with  Whites  in  control 
in  every  southern  state  and  determined  to  perpetuate  that 
control.  The  means  used  to  insure  this  wrere  violence 
and  crime  against  the  Blacks  and  political,  social  and 
business  ostracism  against  a  few  Whites  who  persisted  in 
adhering  to  the  republican  party."  "But  the  political 
wrong  done  to  the  southern  Blacks  and  the  northern 
Whites  by  the  suppression  of  the  colored  vote  was  not  the 
worst  result  of  methods  employed  to  maintain  white  su 
premacy  in  the  South.  Open  acquiescence  in  fraud  on 
the  ballot  boxes  and  in  deeds  of  violence  against  the 
Negroes  worked  endless  demoralization  among  the 
southern  Whites  themselves."  "Tt  is  only  natural  for 
men  to  argue  that  if  a  crime  is  excused  for  a  political 
purpose,  it  will  be  excused  for  all  other  purposes.  The 
public  conscience  was  debauched  and  the  moral  sense  of 
the  people  blunted."  "Other  evidences  of  the  harm  done 
to  society  in  the  South  by  the  methods  used  to  maintain 
white  supremacy  were  the  propensity  to  mob  law,  and 
the  larsre  number  of  defaulting  state  treasurers,  by  whose 


The  Negro's  Right  as  a  freeholder.  23 


dishonesty  the  southern  people  lost  millions  of  dollars." 
Then  we  will  assume  that  the  Xegro  is  denied  an 
honorable  right  as  a  freeholder  in  the  estate  which 
was  created  by  the  energies  of  his  forefathers,  and 
by  the  blood  and  tears  of  their  outraged  manhood. 
When  we  glance  at  the  ages  we  are  constrained 
to  wonder.  Now  we  see  the  tree  of  Liberty  with  her 
soothing  branches  full  of  life  overshadowing  the  earth. 
We  say,  by  whom  was  She  planted?  By  whom  was  She 
defended?  By  the  Eternal  God,  and  by  those  who  believed 
in  Him.  Then  the  right  to  the  fullness  of  this  earth  was 
intended  for  all  men.  O.  Earth,  hold  not  in  thy  hallowed 
soil  the  spirit  of  heroes  that  have  fallen,  lest  Death  shall 
keep  their  lives  and  power!  O,  God,  imbue  the  earth 
with  truth  and  right !  If  Wisdom  ever  gave  in  sacrifice 
her  ardent  strength  to  God,  just  so  has  the  black 
race  in  America  struggled,  suffered  and  died  that  some 
born  of  its  kinsmen  might  live  free  in  this  land  of  oppor 
tunities.  But,  alas  !  the  hour  of  darkness  approaches. 
On  every  hand  evil  clouds  arise ;  higher  and  higher  they 
ascend  until  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States  con 
firms  a  Jim  Crow  Law !  The  Jim  Crow  statesmen,  I 
call  pirates,  because  in  infamy  of  disgrace  piracy  is 
famed  for  its  black  intensity.  On  the  seas  of  public 
opinion  the  great  ship  of  state  is  attacked  and  the  Negro  is 
tortured  and  maltreated  by  the  buccaneers  of  the  color 
line.  I  call  the  Jim  Crow  laws  criminal  because  they 
discredit  the  lives  of  our  noblest  patriots — Washington, 
Jefferson,  Adams,  Franklin,  and  many  others.  Let  us 


24  Our    Inlicrittwcc. 

retrace  the  lines  spoken  by  the  immortal  Lincoln  at  the 
battlefield  of  Gettysburg:  "Fourscore  and  seven  years 
ago  our  fathers  brought  forth  upon  this  continent  a  new 
nation,  conceived  in  liberty,  and  dedicated  to  the  proposi 
tion  that  all  men  are  created  equal.  Now  we  are  engaged 
in  a  civil  war,  testing  whether  that  nation,  or  any  nation, 
so  conceived  and  so  dedicated,  can  long  endure.  We 
are  met  on  a  great  battlefield  of  that  war.  We  are  met  to 
dedicate  a  portion  of  it  as  the  final  resting-place  of  those 
who  here  gave  their  lives  that  this  nation  might  live.  It 
is  altogether  fitting  and  proper  that  we  should  do  this. 
]>ut,  in  a  larger  sense,  we  cannot  dedicate — we  cannot 
consecrate — we  cannot  hallow  this  ground.  The  brave 
men  living  and  dead  who  struggled  here  have  consecrated 
it  far  above  our  power  to  add  or  detract.  The  world  will 
little  note  nor  long  remember  what  we  say  here,  but  it 
can  never  forget  what  they  did  here.  It  is  for  us,  the 
living,  rather  to  be  dedicated  here  to  the  unfinished  work 
that  they  have  thus  far  so  nobly  carried  on.  It  is  rather 
for  us  here  to  be  dedicated  to  the  great  task  remaining 
before  us — that  from  these  honored  dead  we  take  in 
creased  devotion  to  the  cause,  for  which  they  gave  the  last 
full  measure  of  devotion — that  we  here  highly  resolve  that 
the  dead  shall  not  die  in  vain ;  that  the  nation  shall,  under 
God,  have  a  new  birth  of  freedom,  that  the  government 
of  the  people,  by  the  people  and  for  the  people  shall  not 
perish  from  the  earth  !" 


The  Negro's  Right  as  a  Freeholder.  25 

O,  noble  thought  be  thine  and  mine ! 

The  Nation's  purpose  bend 
O,  truthful  heart  the  soul  incline 

Our  wrongs  to  rightness  mend. 
May  God's  will  be  earthly  light, 

A  unit  with  no  end ! 

Shall  another  century  pass  and  the  Negroes'  life  be 
littled,  narrowed  and  darkened  by  opponents  of  reason, 
by  men  who  disregard  all  laws  and  appeal  to  caste, 
prejudice  and  selfishness?  How  long  will  the  Nation 
countenance  lawlessness?  Can  it  be  that  we  have  reached 
the  mean  state  of  political  corruption,  where  might  is 
right,  where,  in  the  scale  of  Justice,  the  dollar  out 
weighs  the  man  and  where  the  crying  need  of  humanity 
is  the  subject  of  barter  and  sale  in  our  houses  of  con 
gress?  Think,  ye  men,  whose  strength  measures  the 
reign  of  government !  You  who  swear  the  oath  to 
uphold  our  constitution  !  You  who  mould  public  opinion  ! 
J  ask  all  men  how  long  shall  Justice  be  dethroned  and 
Reason  cast  aside?  When,  through  dishonor,  a  race  of 
honest  men  are  being  enslaved  in  civilization's  bright 
est  era! 

Is  the  press  dead,  or  will  she  awake  to  chronicle  the 
Nation's  darkest  deed?  Can  the  serpent  of  prejudice 
remain  the  bosom  companion  of  honest  men?  If  not,  let 
the  vigilant,  the  strong,  the  active,  the  men  with  honest 
hearts  unite  against  the  passions  of  the  vile  and  the 
power  of  the  unjust!  Then  out  of  chaos  will  come  a 


26  Our    Inheritance. 

concrete  substance:  a  nation  devoted  to  freedom,  a 
country  of  honorable  men !  The  Negro  is  maltreated, 
misrepresented,  and  outlawed  for  the  sole  purpose  of 
depriving  him  of  the  benefits  from  the  estate.  Every 
nationality  is  welcome  here  except  him.  He  is  a  tenant 
at  sufferance  in  every  community;  and  where  he  is  dis 
liked  the  most,  although  a  law-abiding  citizen,  he  must 
live  in  dread  of  bodily  harm  and  is  free  nowhere  from 
the  pernicious  influence  of  Jim  Crowism.  So  merciless 
has  been  the  attack  upon  him,  that  his  very  color  has  be 
come  the  emblem  of  shame,  the  incentive  for  attack. 
In  no  place,  in  no  industry  or  profession  is  he  welcome. 
He  meets  the  color  line  regardless  of  his  fortune  or 
misfortune,  his  manners,  his  education,  his  wealth  or  his 
ability.  Merely  being  born  black,  or,  partially  so,  is  the 
curse  of  the  most  civilized  and  progressive  age  the 
world  has  ever  known.  I  ask,  is  the  Nation's  advance 
ment  based  upon  her  culture,  science,  literature,  com 
merce  and  education,  or.  upon  prejudicial  sentiments  con 
cerning  color?  If  the  former,  then  the  latter  is  wrong; 
if  the  latter,  then  the  former  is  wrong.  But,  however, 
regarding  advancement  because  of  color,  the  white  man 
who  brought  the  Negro  to  this  country  did  not  advance 
very  far  on  his  knowledge ;  and  the  white  man  who  is 
opposed  to  the  black  man  because  of  his  color,  is  not 
advancing  himself,  nor  the  interest  of  the  community  in 
which  he  lives. 

Organized  labor  is  opposed  to  the  Negro.    On  the  rail 
ways,  on  the  street  cars,  in  the  factories  he  is  not  wanted, 


The  Negro's  Right  as  a  Freeholder.  27 

because  organized  labor  is  against  him.  The  majority  of 
these  Union  men  are  of  foreign  birth  and  aliens  who  en 
deavor  to  prevent  the  Negro,  an  American  citizen,  from 
earning  his  daily  bread.  This  is  the  keenest  blow  against 
the  black  man's  freedom.  Like  a  huge  giant  threatening 
and  menacing  all  that  seek  equal  freedom  with  him, 
this  monster  labor  trust  threatens  to  thrust  upon  the  Na 
tion  a  period  of  oppression  unequaled  in  its  severity. 
Organizations,  whether  public,  private,  civil,  fraternal  or 
religious  are  capable  of  great  moral  uplift.  Likewise 
they  are  capable  of  great  wrongs,  oppression  and  servi 
tude.  The  exalted  aim,  the  high  purpose,  the  sublime 
thought,  principle  and  action  are  the  tendencies  of  good 
which  must  animate  these  bodies,  or  their  use  as  a  fac 
tor  toward  the  advancement  of  mankind  is  negative. 
Capital  looks  down  upon  the  Negro ;  so  busy  is  he  in  the 
plunder  for  wealth  that  naught  but  gain  is  confined  to 
his  progress.  From  Europe  come  the  many  millions  of 
immigrants,  all  supposed  to  be  better  than  the  Negro; 
from  Asia  we  receive  a  flood  of  Asiatics,  all  considered 
better  than  him.  If  there  ever  were  a  world  of  horrors 
presupposed,  created  by  the  world's  selfish  millions,  a 
triumph  of  calamities,  the  sphere  the  black  man  fills 
surely  seems  its  successful  conclusion. 

At  this  great  wrong  we  pause,  and  look  civilization 
in  the  face  to  ascertain  her  meaning.  Can  this  be  the 
great  Christian  era,  the  progressive  age  of  accumu 
lated  science,  art,  literature  and  wealth?  Can  the  Na 
tion  remain  strong,  vigorous  and  successful  when  the 


28  Our    Inheritance. 

sanctity  of  her  laws  are  beneath  the  ashes  of  men's  feet? 
No! 

Then  it  behooves  those  who  believe  in  Liberty  and  Law 
to  assert  themselves,  that  the  overthrow  of  Justice  may 
not  become  complete  in  the  "land  of  the  free  and  home 
of  the  brave?" 


Relationship  of  Jim  Crowism  to 
Lawlessness 


Chapter  If  I. 

true  response  for  right  is  the  elevation  of  the 
1  ideal.  Beginning  from  childhood  our  conceptions  of 
right  and  wrong-  are  formed.  The  highest  regard  for 
the  rights  of  others  is  truly  found  in  "Love  thy  neighbor 
as  thyself,"  which  as  a  spirit  of  action  superceded  all 
just  laws. 

The  highest  monument  in  the  Nation  is  not  the  em 
bellished  statue  of  Liberty,  nor  the  monument  of  George 
Washington  towering  tip  its  many  hundred  feet  into 
space,  nor,  that  of  any  sainted  patriot  who  left  the  "in 
fluence"  of  his  life  to  be  commemorated  by  granite  and 
stone ;  but,  the  context  and  spirit  of  our  laws  and  their 
influence  toward  uplifting  the  character  of  manhood  and 
womanhood  are  the  highest  and  indestructible  towers 
of  our  greatness. 

The  feeling  of  disrespect  is  the  point  of  danger.  Its 
influence  is  the  seat  of  lawless  traits.  Sacredness  of 
right  is  the  strength  of  wise  men  ;  and  when  there  is  no 
sacredness  of  duty,  there  is  no  respect  for  the  rights  of 
others.  Tf  our  ideals  are  not  cultivated  to  the  true  ap 
preciation  of  Nature,  of  home,  of  duty  and  of  country, 
the  lack  of  our  refinement  would  ignore  the  sanctity  of 
our  laws  ;  therefore,  the  strongest  bulwark  of  t'.ie  Nation 
would  crumble.  In  God's  creation  were  born  the  nations 
of  this  earth  whose  right  to  life,  freedom,  and  happiness 
arc  as  sacred  as  our  own  ;  therefore,  in  proclaiming,  de- 


32 


claring-  and  establishing-  law,  order  and  government  we 
acknowledge  their  rights  in  protecting  our  own. 

All  nations  then  must  abhor  those  teachings  that  tend 
toward  selfishness ;  for,  when  developed,  they  produce 
lawless  traits. 

These  lawless  traits  begin  in  childhood  and  ripen  in 
manhood,  so,  therefore,  we  find  unjust  and  unreasonable 
laws  not  only  dulling  the  ethical  sense  of  honor,  but  lead 
ing  the  youth  to  wrong.  Therefore  Jim  Crowism  has  its 
relation  to  lawlessness  from  its  conception.  A  statute,  a 
law,  or  a  principle  laid  down  by  a  community,  state,  or 
a  nation  which,  from  its  spirit,  its  precepts,  its  antece 
dents,  or  its  motives  disregards  idealism,  must  directly 
incline  towards  injustice,  prejudice,  and  lawlessness ;  and 
can  only  mean  the  destruction  of  man's  highest  ideals.  A 
nation,  like  a  man,  to  become  great,  must  build  with  the 
best  material  obtainable.  It  must  be  actuated  only  by 
high  purposes  and  resolves.  He  must' think  right,  act 
right  and  live  right.  Wherefore,  we  see  the  spirit  of  Jim 
Crowism  at  first,  a  vital  factor  against  the  peace  and 
dignity  of  the  Nation,  because,  like  a  blight,  it  destroys 
freedom,  liberty  and  happiness.  It  lessens  the  ethical 
powers  of  the  white  race.  The  higher  sense  of  reason  is 
dulled.  Christian  ideal,  then,  bereft  of  power,  and  the 
strength  of  Liberty  must  weaken.  Justice  thereby  be 
comes  but  a  howling  mockery !  We  have  truth  without 
love  !  and  bravery  without  honor  ! 

Against  the  slave  were  heaped  all  the  iniquities  of  man 
kind  ;  to  look  down,  to  stoop  to  beastial  plane,  with  no 


Relationship  of  Jim  Croivisin-  to  Lawlessness.       33 

thought  of  shame,  or  remorse,  and  to  have  no  feeling  of 
pride.  And  upon  this  state  of  affairs  were  the  laws  of 
society  based.  Therefore,  from  the  lowest,  meanest  plane 
of  wicked  hatred  the  spirit  and  principles  of  Jim  Crow- 
ism  were  conceived. 

Now,  as  satan  of  old,  plausible  and  cunning,  it  ascends 
the  throne  of  Justice  and  poses  as  a  defender  to  protect 
the  integrity  of  the  white  race.  It  doth  entangle  the  black 
race,  but  ah !  friends  of  civilization,  its  cunning  will  de 
ceive.  With  it  comes  the  murderer,  with  it  comes  the 
anarchist,  with  it  comes  annihilation.  Behold !  the  law 
less  power  doth  challenge  the.  authority  of  the  city,  the 
state  and  the  Nation !  Against  the  peace  of  all,  the  mob 
has  come.  Dangerous  even  more  than  the  blight  of 
cholera,  the  scourge  of  war,  or  pestilence,  or  famine. 
The  moral  effect  of  Jim  Crowism  is,  that  first  it 
shadows  the  black  man  with  a  cloud  of  indecency ;  sec 
ond,  it  dwarfs  his  lofty  ideals  and  narrows  his  scope  of 
aspirations.  For  the  white  man,  it  creates  disrespect  for 
the  black  man  and  lessens  the  keen  perception  of  human 
rights. 

As  the  mind  becomes  clouded,  he  grows  more  unreas 
onable  and  selfish  till,  like  the  slave,  is  all  who  measure 
not  strength  with  him.  Brutal  and  tyrannical  fast  be 
comes  the  rule.  Hatred  for  love !  selfishness  for  patriot 
ism,  torture  for  the  weak !  The  wisdom  of  Jim  Cro\v- 
ism  is  unsafe.  It  fosters  dislike,  prejudice  and  cowar 
dice.  It  cannot  benefit  the  \vhite  man,  therefore  it  cannot 
help  the  Negro.  The  humiliation  and  disgrace  following 


34  Our    Inheritance. 

in  pursuance  of  these  laws,  is  as  fatal  as  the  weapon  that 
destroys  the  suicide.  This  destruction  is  more  disparaging 
than  all  others.  Hope  is  thereby  faded  and  life  belittled 
to  satisfy  the  cruel  desire  of  revengeful  hate.  The  Na 
tion  clamors  for  liberty,  freedom,  and  justice;  and  yet 
with  the  fatality  of  death  she  clings  to  Jim  Crowism ! 
They  who  adhere  to  political  Jim  Crowism  have  left  no 
stone  unturned  that  wouVl  assist  in  the  degradation  of 
the  Negro,  or  that  would  multiply  his  misery  and  hard 
ship.  Slavery  was  the  leprosy  of  this  Nation,  and, 
through  God  that  curse  was  obliterated.  Step  by  step,  we 
rise  to  honor,  or  sink  in  shame !  Who  calls  for  this 
dreaded  scourge  again  to  sweep  the  land?  Who  advo 
cates  a  fatal  malady  that  will  consume  and  destroy?  Is 
it  statesman-like  to  invite  misery  and  hardships  in  a 
country  where  men  are  prosperous  and  free?  No!  Then, 
what  follows  the  enactment  of  Jim  Crow  statutes  if  their 
intent  and  purpose  is  not  to  defeat  Justice?  If  white 
supremacy  cannot  maintain  herself  through  the  wisdom 
of  natural  law,  her  ascendency  is  a  blight  and  a  curse  to 
the  earth.  Or,  if  dishonest  principles  are  necessary  to 
secure  to  the  white  man  political  power,  that  power 
and  influence  cannot  sustain  itself  in  a  world  of  growing 
wisdom ;  hence,  with  advancing  civilization,  its  weak 
foundation  will  crumble.  Are  these  agitators  not  satis 
fied  with  the  grievous  mistake  of  their  forefathers? 

Draw  an  imaginary  line  from  the  coast  of  Africa  to 
the  fertile  plains  of  Missouri !  Imagine  a  graveyard 
this  entire  distance.  Then  picture  ten  millions  of  Africa's 


Relationship  of  Jim  Crotvism  to  Lawlessness.       35 

able  sons  the  ill-fated  victims  of  this  tomb !  Picture  again 
the  events  of  history :  the  North  arrayed  against  the 
South  in  a  mighty  conflict,  because  natural  justice  de- 
creeth  God's  will.  Hear  ye  the  appeal  of  our  beloved 
Lincoln  in  the  interpretation  of  God's  law  :  "Woe  unto 
the  world  because  of  the  offense,  for  it  must  need  be 
that  offenses  come ;  but  woe  to  the  man  by  whom  the 
offense  cometh."  "If  we  shall  suppose  that  American 
slavery  is  one  of  the  offenses,  which  in  the  providence 
of  God  must  need  come,  but  which,  having  continued 
through  this  appointed  time,  He  now  wills  to  remove, 
and  that  He  gives  to  both  North  and  South  this  terrible 
war  as  the  woe  due  to  those  by  whom  the  offense  came, 
shall  we  discern  therein  any  departure  from  those  divine 
attributes  which  the  believers  in  a  living  God  always 
ascribe  to  Him  ?"  Fondly  do  we  hope,  fervently  do  we 
pray,  that  this  mighty  scourge  of  war  may  soon  pass 
away.  Yea,  if  God  wills  that  it  continue  until  the  wealth 
piled  by  the  bondsman's  two  hundred  and  fifty  years  of 
unrequited  toil  shall  be  sunk  and  until  every  drop  of 
blood  drawn  with  the  lash  shall  be  paid  by  another  by 
the  sworcl,  as  was  said  three  thousand  years  ago,  so 
still  it  must  be  said,  "The  judgments  of  the  Lord  are 
true  and  righteous  altogether."  The  "blood  of  the 
lash"  was  paid  by  the  blood  of  the  sword  !  The  millions 
of  wealth  acquired  by  the  bondsman's  toil  was  lost! 
Does  this  not  prove  the  moral  philosophy  and  the  just 
ness  of  natural  law?  Jim  Crow  laws  are  properly  traced 
to  the  institution  of  slavery.  Was  her  spirit  a  righteous 


36  Our    Inheritance. 

one?  No!  Are  her  conceptions  founded  on  the  great 
ness  of  the  white  race,  and  the  intent  to  conserve  moral 
contentment  of  that  people?  If  so,  her  wisdom  is  wrong. 
History  is  true  and  our  judgment  is  not  false  in  look 
ing  in  the  past.  The  fear  of  the  southern  white  man  is 
well  grounded.  Cowardice  prohibits  him  from  the  re 
course  to  honor.  Something  wrong  was  done,  he  seeks 
to  justify  his  misconduct  toward  the  Negro  by  advocating 
race  prejudice.  Thus,  the  herald  from  the  Southland 
cometh,  proclaiming  her  dignity !  Thrusting  aside  the 
rights  of  others,  she  doth  declare  her  superiority  and 
the  black  man's  inferiority,  and  her  right  to  abuse,  dis 
franchise  and  annoy  law-abiding  and  peaceful  American 
citizens.  Now,  prescriptive  laws  and  Jim  Crow  statutes 
are  the  glasses  through  which  we  look.  We  see  the  glar 
ing  infamy  of  murder,  robbery  and  rape !  We  see  the 
vile  purpose  of  the  southern  White  in  his  shameful  atti 
tude  towards  the  black  man !  We  see  the  toiling  Blacks 
fettered  to  earth!  We  see  the  "Tree  of  Knowledge"  a 
forbidden  fruit  to  him !  We  see  him  toiling,  toiling* 
wearily  toiling,  a  leaden  cross  heaped  in  human  sorrow 
upon  his  back !  Alas !  we  see  that  vast  graveyard  with 
its  million  tombs,  looking  toward  God  and  the  eternal 
skies,  asking,  yea,  demanding  justice  for  an  outraged 
manhood,  the  black  race!  The  white  man  may  forget,  but 
the  black  man  shall  not !  This  may  cause  serious  re 
flection,  but  it  truly  teaches  that  the  perpetuity  of  govern 
ments  rests  upon  the  freedom  of  man  and  the  justice  of 
God.  The  rabies  of  this  Jim  Crow  spirit  must  be 


Relationship  of  Jim  Croivism  to  Lawlessness.       $7 

obliterated,  or  there  will  not  be  a  spot  of  free  soil  in 
the  United  States  nor  in  a  single  possession  that  she 
holds.  Its  lawless  instincts  are  the  outgrowth  of  national 
patriotic  indifference.  It  abides  by  no  decision  except 
its  own.  If  it  wills  murder,  it  commits  murder.  It  is 
the  seat  of  lawlessness.  Shall  this  disease  grow  and 
grow  until  it  actually  and  forcibly  defies  national  author 
ity?  Where  will  its  activities  cease?  We  may  trace  it 
over  a  period  of  three  centuries  in  the  United  States,  or 
nearly  so.  It  began  with  slavery  in  the  year  1619  and  has 
taken  first  one  form  of  national  disgrace  or  another 
ever  since.  It  argued  for  slavery,  for  state's  rights, 
for  secession  ;  it  established  prescriptive  laws,  it  organ 
ized  mobs,  it  authorized  lynching;  alas,  it  declared  the 
treaty-making  power  was  not  lodged  in  the  National 
Government!  (See  Japanese  school  question  and  the 
California  Legislature.) 

A  plan  to  defeat  the  Wisdom  of  God  may  be  in  the 
sphere  of  human  thought,  but  naught  will  it  accomplish. 
It  may  be  an  easy  thing  today  to  hinder  and  obstruct  the 
Constitution.  You  may  declare  this  country  is  for  the 
white  man  and  shall  be,  but  what  about  tomorrow  ? 
You  may  claim  superiority  over  the  dark  races  and  their 
possibilities,  but  are  you  taking  into  your  counsels  the 
law  of  God  ?  What  is  gained  by  the  cannon  shall  be 
lost  by  the  sword.  If  your  government  shall  find  its 
axes  resting  on  brute  force,  what  will  connect  you  with 
moral  strength  and  economic  virtue?  In  what  way  can 
we  assimilate  the  ethics  of  our  Constitution  with  the 


38  Our    Inheritance. 

spirit  of  lynch  law,  Jim  Crow  statutes  and  race  preju 
dice  ? 

Mobs  were  first  intended  for  Negroes  and  their  sympa 
thizers,  but  now,  ah!  they  mob  everybody. 

Shall  not  the  restless  wave  of  night, 

Grim  by  the  color  line, 
Her  own  fair  outline  then  besmirch 

With  ills  of  hatred  blind? 
Roll  on  imperious  wave  of  night, 

Thy  own  damnation  find  ; 
Thou  Ocean,  reeking  in  thy  blight, 

Sustained  bv  color  line ! 


Disfranchise  or  Disqualify 


Chapter  IV. 

SHOULD  the  Xegro  be  eliminated  from  the  ballot- 
box?  Xo!  because  it  is  his  only  safeguard  against 
tyranny,  oppression  and  slavery.  The  claim  that  the 
elective  franchise  granted  the  ex-slave  was  an  injustice 
to  the  Whites  of  the  southern  states,  is  the  same  argu 
ment  that  his  becoming  free  was  wrong.  The  right  of 
franchise  is  based  on  the  right  of  taxation.  And  no 
citizen  can  live  in  a  community  or  state  without  his 
burden  of  taxation,  whether  or  not  he  be  landlord,  lessor 
or  tenant ;  because  properties,  both  real  and  personal,  are 
taxable,  and  the  laws  of  taxation  are  based  on  community 
valuations.  Therefore,  the  burden  of  each  district  bears 
its  relationship  to  its  own  maintenance. 

It  is  evident,  therefore,  that  any  discrimination  against 
honest  representation  is  usurpation,  dangerous  and  de 
grading.  We  all  know  of  the  Klu  Klux  Klan,  the 
election  frauds  of  the  South,  the  rise  and  fall  of  Justice. 

The  claim  that  the  ignorant  masses  were  powerless  to 
execute  an  intelligent  vote  is  as  truthful  as  to  declare 
and  argue  that  their  interest  would  be  safeguarded  by 
the  selfish  classes  who  persisted  in  their  ignorance.  They 
say  the  Negro  knew  nothing  of  government;  and  still, 
what  they  themselves  practiced  was  too  low  and  mean  to 
be  called  government.  Returning  the  stolen  jewels  does 
not  excuse  the  crime  of  robbery;  nor  open  acknowledg 
ment  of  fraud  legalized  justify  or  excuse  the  act  of  dis- 


42  Oi'.r    Inheritance. 

honesty.  *'A  thief  cannot  convey  a  title."  The  ballot 
earned  by  the  Negro  then  is  justly  his.  The  grandeur 
of  the  slave  king  is  the  curse  of  his  posterity.  The 
stolen  treasures  of  bondage  which  weigh  about  his  neck 
is  the  millstone  threatening  his  destruction. 

As   long  as   Slavery's  cruel  chain 
To  thy  conscience  beareth  claim, 

The  noblest  heart  in  thralldom  dies— 
Ye  reap  the  seed  ye  thoughtless  sow ! 

We  argue  a  higher  law  as  a  fitness  to  vote.  The 
acquisition  of  wealth  and  education  does  not  qualify  one. 
nor  does  it  purify  the  ballot  box.  A  man's  wealth  and 
education  might  induce  either  an  honest  or  a  dishonest 
purpose.  Education,  money  and  brains  are  circum 
stances  ;  and  a  man  may  have  either  and  yet  be  truthful 
or  untruthful.  The  surest  way  to  protect  the  rights  of 
mankind  is  to  allow  his  participation  in  organization  and 
government.  So  with  the  newly  emancipated  slave,  his 
right  to  participate  in  the  organization  of  which  he  was. 
and  by  which  he  was  to  be  governed,  carried  as  high  con 
firmation,  as  that  which  directs  the  legislative  body  of 
any  race  which  shall  be  subject  to  our  laws.  Some  writers 
say  this  was  a  curse.  That  is  but  another  way  of  saying 
slavery  was  right.  Taxation  without  representation  is 
laid  down  by  the  writers  of  history  as  the  cause  for  the 
War  of  Independence.  An  appeal  from  the  sovereignty 
of  the  nation  to  the  sovereignty  of  man  is  laid  down  as 


Disfranchise  or  Disqualify.  43 

the  sacred  right  for  revolution.  The  Negro's  right  to  a 
just  consideration,  therefore,  cannot  be  denied ;  and  his 
right  to  the  ballot-box  is  confirmed  by  the  history  and 
laws  of  this  nation.  Thus  we  might  conveniently  refer 
to  the  crisis  in  San  Francisco  when  the  chief  executive 
of  that  city  was  a  convicted  felon ;  and  when  for  days 
the  municipal  authority  was  crippled  because  of  the  vast 
exposure  of  fraud.  As  we  raise  our  eyes  and  gaze  over 
the  political  horizon  of  American  politics,  it  is  hard  to 
find  the  cloudless  sky.  Every  city,  every  county  and 
every  State  has  produced  its  Eugene  Schmitzs,  or  its 
Abraham  Ruefs,  or  some  such  characters,  who  have  ap 
peared  beneath  the  cloud  of  public  scorn.  These  men  are 
white  men  and  educated  men.  Even  the  United  States  sen 
ate  is  not  without  its  stains.  Rut  these  conditions  do  not 
result  because  of  the  color  of  men  or  their  education. 

The  details  of  .slavery  are  too  vicious  to  chronicle. 
Never  in  the  history  of  governments  did  the  debasing 
influence  of  a  criminal  system  reach  such  a  low  ebb. 
Mean,  cruel,  wicked,  cursed,  and  not  within  the  concep 
tion  of  human  mind,  except  the  low  and  vile,  were  its 
practices.  Every  principle  of  law,  moral,  social  and  eco 
nomic,  was  banished  from  the  realms  of  southern  institu 
tions  by  American  slavery. 

The  intent  to  disfranchise  characterizes  the  spirit  of 
slavery.  To  nullify  the  voice  of  the  laboring  class  in  a 
republican  form  of  government  is  not  a  democratic  idea, 
but  autocratic;  because  to  destroy  their  freedom,  to  pro 
hibit  their  advancement,  is  the  wav  to  demoralization, 


44 


inefficiency  and  inompe.tency.  Lastly,  their  power  to 
advance  and  compete  with  the  laboring  classes  in  any 
other  part  of  the  world  where  there  are  advanced  ideas 
and  progressive  movements,  is  negatived. 

With  disfranchisement  accomplished,  what  are  the  re 
sults  ?  The  success  of  the  Negro  as  a  free  and  independ 
ent  laboring  class  is  defeated.  The  crown  of  bondage  is 
again  placed  on  his  brow.  His  chances  to  develop  to  the 
fullness  of  his  power  are  destroyed.  With  independence 
gone,  he  has  no  alternative  except  a  condition  of  serfdom. 
TTe  cannot  maintain  his  freedom,  for  his  independence  is 
lost.  As  a  working  class,  he  can  neither  assert  nor 
defend  his  rights. 

The  power  of  America  as  a  commercial  nation  would 
thereby  be  impaired,  because  what  will  affect  one  class  of 
labor  will  affect  all.  What  will  affect  the  South  will 
affect  the  North,  and  vice  versa.  The  Nation  cannot, 
with  a  part  of  its  labor  ignorant  and  neglected,  hold 
foreign  markets ;  because  where  men  are  free  to  make 
the  best  of  their  lot  their  advancement  is  the  basic  foun 
dation  of  national  prosperity.  In  the  future  we  will  not 
be  able  to  compete  with  Germany,  France,  England,  nor 
any  other  country,  with  a  part  of  our  resources  undevel 
oped. 

Social  and  economic  laws  are  not  subjugated  by  Jim 
Crow  statutes.  They  recognize  neither  white  nor  black. 
This  is  a  higher  law,  beyond  the  reach  of  prejudice  and 
the  edicts  of  pirates, — a  law  on  which  the  fate  of  the 


Disfranchise  or  Disqualify.  45 

Nation  hangs !  Why  are  we  seeking  foreign  markets,  if 
it  is  not  to  improve  the  labor  class  at  home  ? 

The  cry  of  unionism  against  convict  labor  comes  with 
a  shock  with  the  attempt  to  destroy  the  efficiency  of  the 
black  man  as  a  laborer,  by  elimination,  disfranchise- 
ment,  etc. 

Under  the  laws  of  slavery,  industry  was  shackled  by 
the  same  chain  that  held  the  slave.  Forbidden  was  the 
southern  white  man,  under  the  social  laws,  the  exercise 
of  industrial  skill.  Hence,  the  foundation  of  southern 
economic  progress  was  shattered,  because  labor  was 
degradation,  and  only  fitted  for  the  slave.  Their  re 
sources  of  material  progress  were  thus  enfeebled.  Slave 
labor  has  always  been  the  most  costly,  less  effective,  and 
actually  powerless  to  compete  with  free  labor,  which  is 
necessarily  stimulated  by  its  freedom,  education  and 
endless  opportunities. 

During  the  period  of  economic  depression  in  the  South, 
the  North  has  advanced  materially.  Factories  and  mills 
grew  up  in  every  village  and  every  city.  The  prestige  of 
the  North  as  a  financial  giant  continues  to  grow  with  her 
many  thousand  schools  and  colleges,  and  with  her  con 
structive  idea  of  free  and  educated  labor. 

"There  was  not  a  public  school  system  in  any  south 
ern  state  before  the  war." 

The  argument  of  disfranchisement,  therefore,  loses  its 
weight,  because  it  acts  as  an  estoppel  in  the  operation 
of  fundamental  progress. 

Socially  wrong,  morally  wrong,  and  economically  bad ! 


-46  Our    Inheritance. 

The  contentment  of  the  laboring  classes  amounts  to  the 
total  wealth  and  power  of  a  nation.  Can  any  mind  con 
ceive  the  tide  of  unrest  in  a  large  laboring  population 
who  are  smarting  under  the  restraint  -of  prescriptive 
laws,  that  de-citizenize  them,  while  it  gives  another 
laboring  class  the  oppressor's  hand  ?  In  this  shameful 
plight  to-day  stands  the  Negro,  an  American  citizen ! 

"A  man  who  knows  that  the  laws  under  which  he  lives 
violate  the  first  principles  of  natural  justice,  is  bound  to 
strive,  by  all  honorable  means,  to  break  down  and  defeat 
those  laws.  Among  the  honorable  means  is,  the  right  of 
armed  resistance — the  sacred  right  to  revolution."  "This 
is  the  higher  law  which  sanctified  the  revolt  of  George 
Washington  against  the  constituted  authorities  then  ex 
isting  in  this  country." 

Ry  the  spirit  of  patriotism,  by  the  usages  of  the  Nation, 
by  the  laws  of  society  the  Negro  is  entitled  to  his  ballot 
and  should  not  be  disfranchised.  To  be  a  man  with  edu 
cation,  he  must  have  freedom ;  to  have  his  freedom,  he 
must  be  honest ;  to  be  honest,  he  must  be  patriotic ;  to  be 
patriotic,  he  must  be  brave ;  to  be  brave,  he  must  love ;  to 
love,  he  must  be  honorable ;  to  be  honorable,  he  cannot  be 
without  his  ballot. 

If  the  Negro  were  disfranchised,  then  his  education 
would  become  the  consuming  fires  of  his  destruction. 
His  soul  would  thirst  for  life  and  perish  as  a  plant  in  the 
desert  waste.  Then  would  rise  within  him  a  spirit  en 
kindled  with  latent  fires  of  racial  hate,  whose  burning 
activity  would  seek  anarchistic  strength.  What  then? 


Disfranchise  or  Disqualify.  47 

II is  characteristic  happiness  would  turn  to  the  sullen 
mood  of  the  ox.  The  Negro,  knowing  that  execrable 
laws  were  steadfast  and  against  his  progress  and  happi 
ness,  could  he  feel  different  than  the  assassin,  or  the 
hideous  murderer  who  clamors  for  blood? 

Therefore,  what  the  Negro  race  has  seemed  to  have 
lost  through  dishonor  and  the  white  man's  dishonesty 
ought,  nevertheless,  to  remain  his.  And  he  will  struggle 
ever  to  retain  his  possessions  !  Through  the  courts  of 
civilization,  before  the  jury  of  public  opinion,  before  the 
judge  of  Progress — even  to  the  end  of  time — shall  he  pur 
sue  the  cause  of  Justice,  that  the  restoration  of  his  rights 
before  God  may  prove  his  manhood. 

Who    breatheth    now    the    sun's    pure    ray? 
Who  livtth  life  in  brightest  way? 
Who  sees  as  God,  though  but  in  clay? 
Tis  lie  that  loves,  that  loves  ! 


A  Pertinent  Question 


Chapter  V. 

THERE  is  no  question  of  more  importance  to  the 
American  Nation  than  the  one  of  lawlessness.  As  a 
part  of  our  inheritance,  we  must  study,  understand  and 
deal  with  it  in  the  same  high  sense  of  reasoning  as  we 
have  every  question  that  has  confronted  the  Nation. 
The  mob  affects  the  interest  of  one  race  as  much  as  it 
does  the  other,  for  there  can  be  no  rule  of  justice  or  in 
justice  that  will  not  measure  its  equal  in  all  directions. 
Mob  rule  is  the  result  of  slavery.  It  is  the  culmination 
of  criminal  passions.  Jim  Crow  law  is  the  tide  of  preju 
dice.  Unite  the  criminal  passion,  the  tide  of  prejudice 
and  the  assembly  of  men  and  you  have  tyrants.  You 
have  lawless  characters  who  will  fill  the  Nation  with 
horrors,  and  stain  a  spotless  coat  with  blood ;  those  who 
will  trample  beneath  their  murderous  feet  the  reputation 
of  our  laws  and  the  honor  of  our  country.  They  now 
jeopardize  the  interests  of  ten  million  Negroes  and 
threaten  the  liberty  of  seventy  million  Whites. 

Will  the  Negro  be  a  free  man  in  a  free  country  ?  Will 
the  white  man  be  a  free  man  in  a  free  country?  These 
questions  are  inseparable.  The  standard  of  one  will  be 
the  height  of  the  other.  If  the  Negro's  freedom  is  cur 
tailed  by  perverse  laws,  the  white  man's  liberty  is  re 
strained,  by  the  same  perversity.  Like  the  pendulum  of  a 
clock,  its  movements  depend  upon  the  equation  of  its 
bearings.  When  the  clock  runs  free,  her  bearings  are 


52  Our    Inheritance. 

right;  when  the  Nation  prospers,  it  is  when  her  bearings 
are  equality  and  justice.  Every  rule  must  have  a  prin 
ciple,  and  every  principle  must  have  a  foundation. 

So  with  our  laws — if  they  are  entangled  with  incon 
sistencies,  or  conflicting  opinions,  we  shall  have  misrule, 
because  a  law  must  be  general,  permanent  and  universal, 
in  order  to  insure  us  against  confusion  of  interpretation, 
which  might  render  its  power  null  and  void.  If  we  are 
to  increase  the  efficacy  of  our  laws  by  the  growrth  of  vital 
strength,  we  must  observe  the  Rule  and  the  Square. 

The  hope  of  honest  men  is  the  realization  of  just  and 
efficient  laws ;  but  we  cannot  sow  discord  and  expect  to 
reap  the  beauty  of  harmony.  You  cannot  destroy  the 
efficacy  of  the  soil  by  acidulous  legislation  and  expect 
mankind  to  boast  of  the  ''waving  gold"  of  freedom's 
triumph.  If  we  plant  wheat,  wheat  will  grow;  if  we 
plant  thorns,  thistles  will  blossom.  As  the  Nation  grows, 
whether  we  shall  become  stronger  or  weaker,  will  depend 
upon  the  virtue  of  her  laws.  If  they  shall  conform  to  the 
ideals  of  sublime  reason,  if  our  law-givers  shall  be  actu 
ated  by  noble  motives,  then  what  we  shall  build  will 
become  stronger  and  stronger.  This  is  not  a  question 
of  color  prejudice,  but  one  of  national  importance,  be 
cause  it  affects  the  entire  status  of  our  free  government. 
Nothing  is  more  injurious  to  free  government  than  spe 
cial  legislation,  for  such  legislation  establishes  a  disregard 
for  Justice  and  brings  into  disrepute  the  wisdom  of  sane 
and  just  laws.  Should  not  legislation  of  this  character 
be  dreaded  bv  all  mankind? 


A    Pertinent    Quest wn.  53 

Men  fight  first  for  liberty,  because  without  freedom 
they  possess  little  that  insures  happiness.  Since  we  have 
traced  lawlessness  from  the  spirit  of  the  mob  and  Jim 
Crow  legislation,  it  is  the  duty  of  the  Nation  to  stop  its 
clamoring,  defeat  its  purpose,  and  negative  its  powers. 
Like  a  black  rag  hideous  for  its  execrations,  we  have  ap 
pended  this  contemptible  plague,  Jim  Crowism,  to  a  noble 
Constitution  by  condoning  certain  states  in  constitutional 
amendments.  To  show  the  proof  of  this  claim,  I  offer 
the  extracts  from  Congressional  Records,  extracts  from 
remarks  of  Hon.  Benjamin  Tillman,  February  26,  1900: 

"I  have  exhumed  the  bloody  shirt  for  a  brief  moment 
and  am  waving  it  like  a  red  flag  to  a  bull  and  the  latter 
will  not  fight  or  budge.  And  I  will  call  the  attention 
of  my  friends  of  the  North. — I  have  a  great  many  on  that 
side,  I  am  proud  to  say — to  the  fact  that  they  do  not 
know,  and  never  will  know  until  they  come  south  to 
live  with  us,  just  what  we  have  to  contend  against  even 
now.  They  do  not  realize  it,  they  cannot  realize  it;  and 
it  is  for  the  purpose  of  trying  to  have  them  study  this 
question  of  race  a  little  more,  and  analyze  it,  that  I  have 
attempted,  in  my  feeble  way,  to  intrude  on  this  body  for 
the  brief  remarks  I  have  made  on  this  subject,  I  will  tell 
you,  while  T  am  talking  about  negro  suffrage,  why  they 
are  so  dangerous  as  voters.  In  any  state  where  the 
Whites  divide — and  they  have  divided  in  every  southern 
state  except  mine  and  Mississippi — into  Populist  and 
Democrats,  the  Negro  has  been  the  balance  of  power, 
thonsfh  one  side  or  the  other  lias  controlled  the  elections 


54  Our    Inheritance. 

by  means  of  bribery,  for  the  Negro  vote  was  a  pur 
chasable  one.  Therefore,  we  have  been  confronted  by 
the  condition  of  a  large,  ignorant,  debased  vote,  thrust 
upon  us  by  the  Fourteenth  and  Fifteenth  Amendments. 
Other  states,  not  peculiarly  situated  as  mine,  have 
retained  the  negro  vote.  They  have  taken  no  steps 
looking  to  its  elimination  by  educational  qualifi 
cations  or  other  system.  That  vote  to-day  stands  as 
a  menace  to  the  freedom,  to  the  purity  of  the  ballot-box, 
to  the  purity  and  honesty  of  elections,  to  the  decency  of 
government,  and  it  is  there  forever  until  there  is  a  consti 
tutional  provision  made  here  which  will  relieve  us  from 
it.  I  should  be  glad  to  see  an  educational  qualification 
throughout  the  North.  I  believe  no  man  is  fit  to  be  an 
elector  unless  he  is  able  to  read  and  write  and  understands 
about  government  and  its  great  principles.  But  who 
hopes  to  see  that?  No  party  at  the  North  will  dare  to 
undertake  to  limit  suffrage  in  that  way,  because  it  would 
mean  at  the  first  election  that  the  vote  which  they  dreaded 
would  go  to  the  other  party  and  they  would  be  beaten, 
and  the  demagogues  in  both  parties  would  plead  that 
you  must  have  equality  of  manhood,  without  regard  to 
patriotism,  or  intelligence,  or  decency,  or  ability,  or  any 
other  qualification  which  makes  a  man  fit  to  vote.  Let 
me  tell  you  how  we  are  situated  in  our  state.  We  had  a 
hundred  and  twenty-five  thousand  Negroes  of  voting  age 
jind  we  had  a  hundred  thousand  Whites.  Now,  can  you 
lift  yourself  over  the  fence  with  your  boot  straps  and 
beat  that  bv  honest  methods.  Yet  you  stood  up  here  and 


A    Pertinent    Question.  55 

insisted  that  we  must  give  these  people  a  'free  vote  and  a 
fair  count.'  They  had  it  for  eight  years,  as  long  as 
bayonets  stood  here,  and  in  1876  they  sent  more  bayonets, 
because  we  had  got  the  devil  in  us  by  that  time  and  we 
did  not  care  whether  we  had  any  government.  We  pre 
ferred  to  have  a  United  States  army  officer  rather  than  a 
government  of  carpet-baggers  and  thieves  and  scally 
wags  and  scoundrels,  who  had  stolen  everything  in  sight 
and  had  mortgaged  posterity ;  who  had  run  their  felon 
ious  paws  into  the  pockets  of  posterity  by  issuing  bonds. 
When  that  happened  we  took  the  government  away.  We 
stuffed  the  ballot  boxes.  We  shot  them.  We  are  not 
ashamed  of  it.  With  that  system — force,  tissue  ballots, 
etc. — we  got  tired  ourselves.  So  we  had  a  constitutional 
convention  and  we  eliminated,  as  I  said,  all  the  colored 
people  we  could  under  the  Fourteenth  and  Fifteenth 
Amendments." 

When  the  Jim  Crow  orator  receives  applause,  when 
howling  mobs  fill  the  streets,  when  the  assassin  and  the 
anarchist  lurk  about  in  the  dark  ready  to  attack  individ 
uals  as  well  as  society,  when  infants  are  taught  the  sel 
fish  spirit  of  hatred  and  to  ignore  the  beauty  of  God's 
creation,  when  Presidents  stand  in  awe  of  murder,  when 
every  community  has  its  special  laws  and  her  color-line, 
when  a  large  part  of  our  citizens  go  armed,  is  it  a  won 
der  that  our  European  critics  say  history  will  repeat 
itself — "a  Republic,  then  an  Empire  ?" 


The  Tragedy 


Chapter  VI. 

THE  world  has  read  the  piteous  tale  of  the  South — the 
Clansman  and  the  Leopard  spots.  By  her  able  sons 
she  has  been  defended  through  the  press,  pulpit  and  plat 
form.  They  have  all  portrayed  her  high  standard  of 
virtue,  chivalry  and  patriotism.  They  have  declared  her 
justified  in  both  mob-violence  and  Jim  Crow  laws,  and 
have  certified  her  ill-treatment  of  the  Negro  as  just. 
Now,  let  us  reason.  The  African  race  in  America  was 
once  a  dark  people ;  but  we  now  have  the  mulatto :  a  sub 
stitute  for  white  and  black.  Some  are  even  so  fair  that 
the  African  extraction  is  hardly  visible ;  but  as  some 
writers  put  it,  "one  drop  of  negro  blood  makes  the  crea 
ture  black."  We  will  accept  the  doctrine  as  truth  and 
calculate  therefrom. 

Of  the  ten  million  Negroes  in  the  United  States,  three 
millions  are  mulattoes.  For  such  a  gigantic  admixture  of 
blood  there  must  be  a  cause.  Beginning  in  the  early  days 
of  slavery,  this  miscegenation  began.  The  civilized  white 
man  and  the  heathen  slave  woman  were  the  factors  in 
this  unit.  As  slavery  progressed  this  prodigious  wrong 
increased.  The  slave  woman  bore  the  name  of  a  negro 
wench,  while  her  master  was  rated  as  a  gentleman !  This 
was  one  of  the  common  practices  of  slavery.  From  this 
bestial  state  of  affairs  the  negro  race  got  its  first  admix 
ture  of  blood,  and  this  through  the  criminal  rape  and  im- 
moralitv  of  the  white  race.  Tn  heathendom  the  negro 


('»0  Our    Inheritance. 

race  is  known  for  its  honesty  and  virtue.  Even  unto  this 
day,  infraction  of  moral  propriety  are  punishable  by 
death. 

The  first  crime  against  women  in  the  United  States 
was  committed  by  the  white  man  against  black  women. 
In  civilization,  nothing  is  more  horrible  than  the  strong 
crushing  out  the  life  of  the  weak. 

This  destruction  was  deadlier  than  the  vicious  fangs  of  a 
poisonous  reptile,  it  was  a  sin  against  the  home,  the 
Nation  and  the  honor  of  a  defenseless  race.  Its  infamy 
struck  the  very  cords  of  society.  The  moral  strength  of 
the  civilized  world  was  against  this  institution  of  beastial- 
ity!  To  Heaven  went  up  the  vociferous  cry  of  civili 
zation  against  this  terrible  crime !  And  the  world  in  pity 
gazed  upon  the  sorrowing  tale  of  inhumanity !  And  now 
from  the  foundation  of  this  criminal  waste  arises  the  off 
spring,  this  Jim  Crow  spirit,  this  color  line,  this  death,  a 
living  power,  this  curse  of  our  civilization,  this  image  of 
Death  whose  only  mission  is  to  crush  the  hopes  of  a 
struggling  race  of  freedmen. 

This  cruel  spirit  now  seeks  to  protect  its  home  after  it 
has  destroyed  the  beauty  and  happiness  in  the  home  of 
another.  Is  it  a  moral  theme  that  would  advocate  the 
actions  of  a  thief  and  'a  murderer?  No!  Then  dis 
abling  laws  of  Jim  Crowism  are  nothing  more  nor  less 
than  the  edicts  of  criminals  and  murderers,  who  breathe 
the  sentiment  of  confiscation,  degradation  and  damna 
tion  of  the  Negro  race. 

We  depict  the  crime  of  murder  in  the  harshness  of 


The    Tragedy.  <V1 

indignant  wrath ;  but  what  is  it  but  murder  when  the 
moral  propriety  of  the  negro  race  is  wickedly  assailed 
by  its  malf actors  ? 

The  "crime  against  woman"  is  assigned  to  the  Blacks, 
while  the  vicious  and  bcastlike  passion  of  the  white  man 
lures  and  carries  to  destruction  every  black  woman  that 
its  cunning,  shrewd  and  criminal  influence  can  reach. 

"Enemies  are  cowards,  that  fight  in  the  dark."  War 
fare  is  honorable  so  long  as  it  does  not  outrage  the  prin 
ciples  of  reason.  It  may  be  just  to  fight,  and  it  may  be 
honorable  to  die ;  yet,  it  can  be  that  every  drop  of  blood 
is  the  stain  of  murder,  even  though  its  sanction  conies 
from  the  highest  legal  authority. 

How  long  will  the  Anglo-Saxon  boast  of  his  home,  his 
influence  and  his  power,  when  the  sin  of  all  sins,  the 
wrong  greater  than  all  others,  casts  its  grim  reflection  in 
a  lighter  Negro  or  mulatto  ? 

A  man's  standard  of  character  and  virtue  are  measured 
by  the  history  of  his  accomplishments.  Then  in  order  to 
judge  southern  institutions,  wre  must  study  their  history, 
compare  their  achievements  and  measure  their  progress. 
To  read  the  history  of  the  southern  states,  is  to  revive 
in  mind  the  harrowing  recollections  of  misery  and  ser 
vitude  of  the  black  race  and  the  extravagance  and  im 
morality  of  the  white  race.  If  we  measure  her  success 
with  her  sister  states  of  the  North,  \ve  would  say,  man 
hood  is  the  greatest  title  of  honor  in  the  American 
Nation,  and  the  promotion  of  it  must  be  well  founded 
in  the  statutes  of  our  states.  Then  the  declaration  of 


(>2  Our    Inheritance. 

southern  chivalry  is  as  unwise  as  it  is  untruthful.  She 
was  but  a  criminal  tragedy  in  her  days  of  glory  and 
fame.  For,  while  high  tribute  was  paid  to  the  stranger 
who  visited  the  southern  soil,  the  clanking  chains  of 
four  million  men  was  the  resourcefulness  of  this  extreme 
kindly  nature !  Now  the  world  must  condone  this  crime 
to  propitiate  the  spirit  of  racial  hatred  and  the  unjust 
claim  of  Jim  Crowism !  This  Jim  Crow  spirit  surely 
comes  from  hades,  for  the  trials  of  our  ancestors  are 
pictured  in  hell's  darkest  drama ! 

The  harvest  e'er  long  must  reach  her  fullness !  The 
deed,  the  seed  implanted,  why  should  we  not  have  a 
lawless  age?  T  doubt  a  single  instance  where  an  honest 
white  man,  or  an  honest  black  man,  would  scorn  the 
effort  to  place  feminine  virtue  upon  the  highest  pinnacle 
of  human  reverence.  Even  so  high  that  rather  would 
they  have  it  be  the  character  of  their  state  defamed  than 
the  honor  of  woman !  We  read  in  the  early  days  of  the 
Greeks,  that  once,  when  their  country  was  at  war  and 
they  were  hard  pressed  by  their  enemy,  they  placed 
their  mothers,  wives  and  children  aboard  their  fleet  and 
called  their  ships  their  country  and  their  country  their 
state.  Indeed,  such  honor  and  sublimity  was  attached 
to  womanhood  that  their  protection  and  defense  laid 
first  in  the  laws  of  government. 

Quote  the  deepest  thought  that  letters  teach, 

The  purest  lines  that  poets  preach, 

Nay,  all  in  all  we  fail  to  find 

Fitting  words  that  will  define — woman. 


The    Tragedy.  63 

lint  ah!  as  deeper  we  go  into  the  subject  the  clearer 
is  our  conception  of  the  grave  wrong  committed  against 
the  negro  woman,  and  the  tru?  origin  of  Jim  Crowism. 

Born  in  the  depth  of  this  disgraceful  shame  are  the 
offsprings  of  the  white  man  and  the  slave  woman !  Out 
lawed  by  birth !  Fatherless  and  homeless  in  a  country 
of  Jim  Crow  laws  !  In  the  great  state  of  California 
we  have  outlawed  the  negro  woman. 

In  March,  1872,  the  marriage  between  Whites  and 
Blacks  was  prohibited  by  statute,  which  amounted  to 
the  total  disability  of  the  negro  women. 

Now,  what  are  the  resultant  conditions  which  have 
been  brought  about  by  this  law?  Her  laws  prohibit 
marriage  between  the  white  race  and  the  negro  race. 
Are  the  laws  of  God  subservient  to  the  laws  of  man? 
Can  any  man  change  the  nature  of  creation  ?  Then,  why 
legislate  against  the  decrees  of  God  since  the  action  is 
man's  disgrace  ?  Finally,  the  laws  to  protect  woman 
hood  have  become  submissive  to  prostitution  and  crime. 
She  is  barred  by  the  state  from  an  honorable  standing. 
Womanhood  in  a  dark  skin  is  but  a  waif,  unprotected, 
outlawed  and  disgraced.  The  champions  of  our  code 
could  not  see  the  beauty  of  the  sublime — honor,  chastity 
and  purity  in  a  dark-skinned  woman.  History  refuses 
the  analogous  of  this  state  of  affairs.  It  must  be  a  cold, 
cold  heart,  a  dark  mind,  and  an  empty  conscience,  and 
a  soulless  being,  indeed,  who  would  refuse  woman  pro 
tection.  Yet,  implanted  in  the  twentieth  century  are  laws, 
weak  for  the  lack  of  courageous  manhood  to  detect  them. 


64  Our    Inheritance. 

Laws  which  outrageously  condemn  us  in  the  eyes  of  all 
honest  men  throughout  the  entire  civilized  world. 

I  ask  the  political  economist,  the  sociologist,  the  philoso 
pher,  and  society  itself,  to  picture  another  race  in  the 
same  position,  or  give  me  a  finality  of  this  one !  Beastial- 
i;-:ed,  criminalized,  bastardized,  outlawed,  hated,  enslaved; 
a  drop  of  her  blood  means  the  cast  of  shame,  the  spirit 
of  the  country  against  her  color.  Avenues,  one  after 
another,  closed  against  her  as  far  as  it  lies  in  the  power 
of  mankind !  Yet  in  the  face  of  this  inhuman  damnation, 
Jim  Crow  legislation  and  beastlike  spirit  of  madness,  she 
stands  firm,  refusing  to  denounce  Democracy,  and  asks 
civilization  for  her  share  of  enlightenment,  education 
and  happiness. 

Bending  like  the  welded  steel, 

Forged  by  Vulcan's  hand, 
Her  strength,  ah!  must  be  true  and  tried 

The  angered  fires  to  stand. 
Let  Afric's  day  of  trials  be 

The  furnace  fires  glowing  free ; 
That  purest  steel  the  forge  may  lend. 

True  and  tried — neither  break  nor  bend. 

Professor  Scarborrough,  in  an  able  magazine  article 
(Arena),  gives  the  appalling  figures,  "36,000  children 
born  in  a  year  in  the  South  with  white  fathers  and 
Negro  mothers."  This  offspring  is  under  no  pale  of 
protection.  What  a  terrible  condition !  Why  should 
the  white  man  lynch  the  Negro? 


The    Tragedy.  65 

It  is  one  thing  to  commit  murder  and  another  thing  to 
shield  the  crime.  Webster  says,  "The  whole  creation  of 
God  has  neither  nook,  nor  corner,  where  guilt  can  be 
stow  and  say  that  it  is  safe."  O  murdered !  homeless ! 
unfortunate  woman,  where  are  thy  brave  defenders? 
The  legislature,  the  press,  the  pulpit?  the  angered 
mob  with  torch  and  gun,  bent  on  death  and  murder, 
are  these  thy  defense?  Why  do  we  read:  Justice! 
Lynched  !  Burned  at  Stake !  A  white  man  never  suf 
fered  the  stake  for  a  black  woman's  honor !  Yet  the 
greatest  crime  of  the  century  was  and  is  being  com 
mitted  by  the  white  man.  In  the  state  of  California,  we 
have  one  of  these  outlawed  women,  a  negro  girl  under 
age,  who  became  the  mother  of  a  child  by  a  white  man. 
Under  pressure  of  vengeance  by  the  mother,  he  married 
her;  but  as  soon  as  the  storm  calmed,  he  sought  annul 
ment  of  ties  on  the  grounds  that  she  was  a  Negress. 

Not  marked  by  sun's  scorching  rays, 
Nor  clouds  that  hang  from  evil  sky, 

Nor  cares  that  steal  her  beauty  'way, 
Is  she  whose  color  is  black, 

The  outlawed  spirit,  the  castaway ! 

Thou  macl'st  the  laws  of  this  land. 

To  protect  woman  on  every  hand  ; 
But,  strange,  thott  gav'st  her  naught  to  say. 

She  whose  color  is  black, 
The  outlawed  spirit,  the  castaway  ! 


66 


Know'st  thou  not  that  she  could  love. 
And  bear  to  man  hope  from  above 

In  woman's  exalted  glory  ? 
She  whose  color  is  black, 

The  outlawed  spirit,  the  castaway ! 

Dire  grieved  by  cheerless  past. 

Wronged  by  ignoble  class, 
Bearing  their  burdens  as  her  pay, 

The  \\oman  whose  color  is  black, 
The  outlawed  spirit,  the  castaway ! 

Cheerless  worker,  go  on  thy  way ; 

Thy  starving  soul  must  pity  find 
Beyond  the  veil  of  human  mind, 

Thou  whose  color  is  black, 
The  outlawed  spirit,  the  castaway ! 

Move  on,  O  blighted  hope,  move  on  ! 

Arouse  thy  spirit  from  the  dust, 
The  carnal  age,  the  age  of  lust, 

Thou  whose  color  is  black, 
The  outlawed  spirit,  the  castaway ! 

We  see  thy  gloom  from  day  to  day, 
\Ve  watch  the  serpent  with  its  prey. 

The  poisonous  sting  and  death  it  brings 
To  thee  whose  color  is  black, 

The  outlawed  spirit,  the  castaway ! 


The    Tragedy.  67 

Thy   chastity   was   cast   aside 

To  soothe  the  passions  of  evil  tide 
Who  wedded  not  thy  sorrowing, 

Thou  whose  color  is  black, 
The  outlawed  spirit,  the  castaway ! 

They  pitied  not  the  sorrow  wrought, 

But,  demonlike,  fought  for  hope 
Of  bondage,  and  misery's  yoke. 

For  her  whose  color  is  black, 
The  outlawed  spirit,  the  castawray ! 

Can  there  be  those  with  minds  so  great 

This  dreadful  sorrow  could  relate, 
Save  her,  who  suffered  another's  wrong? 

Nay,  she  alone  whose  color  is  black, 
The  outlawed  spirit,  the  castaway ! 

Then  live  thou  on,  O  spirit,  and  trust! 

It's  better  to  wed  the  woes  of  dust 
Than  cast  away  the  throne  of  love ! 

Live  on,  thou  soul  in  black. 
The  outlawed  spirit,  the  castaway ! 

Build  high,  thy  hope  shall  always  live ; 

Strive  hard,  thy  soul  shall  fill 
With  conquering  courage,  dominant  will, 

Thou  whose  color  is  black, 
The  outlawed  spirit,  the  castaway! 


68  Our    Inlicritancc. 

Live  thoti  then  for  a  brighter  day  ! 

This  woeful  age  shall  pass  away 
Beyond  the  cliffs  of  sorrow's  bounds. 

Live  on,  thou  soul  in  black, 
The  outlawed  spirit,  the  castaway ! 

I  implore  the  honor  of  every  honest  man  in  behalf 
of  Justice  and  against  the  damnable  curse  of  Jim  Crow- 
ism  !  May  womanhood,  regardless  of  race  or  color,  be 
the  matchless  ideal  of  our  national  honor,  and  the  splen 
dor  of  her  character  reflect  the  greatness  of  our  man 
hood. 

Bleeding,  sorrowing,  weeping  heart, 
A  lay  thy  laden  cross  come  light, 
Thou  heroine  of  earth's  dark  night ! 
The  world,  shall  see  thy  mission  then, 
Thy  honor  shall  all  men  defend ! 
That  Arian  hue  upon  thy  face 
Shall  mark  forever  the  unjust  race. 
Thy  piteous  soul  ne'er  sinned. 


The  Lawless  Trend 


Chapter  I'll. 

HE  strong  shall  protect  the  weak!"  This  is  one  of 
the  oldest  axioms  of  law.  The  strong  should 
lead  the  weak ;  but  not  with  a  rope  around  his  neck,  nor 
the  shackles  of  bondage  about  his  feet ;  but  to  right,  to 
light,  to  hope,  to  happiness  and  to  usefulness.  We  may 
as  well  stop  building  colleges  if  we  are  continually  erect 
ing  saloons.  The  Nation  spends  many  millions  of  dollars 
annually  for  the  education  of  her  youth.  And  more 
than  two  hundred  and  eighty  millions  is  used  in  the 
manufacture  of  liquor.  More  than  that  amount  of  money 
is  paid  the  l/nited  States  Government  for  revenue  tax 
and  license  ;  and  each  state  is  burdened  with  extra  tax 
ation  of  millions  of  dollars  because  of  the  institutions 
for  the  prosecution  of  crime.  Are  we  to  educate  the 
youth  to  drunkenness,  hypocrisy  and  crime? 

With  the  same  malicious  boldness,  the  white  man  en 
tered  China  with  opium  and  poisoned  that  nation,  and 
to-day  we  are  killing  the  world's  millions  with  rum.  The 
influence  of  rum  is  the  curse  of  heathen  Africa.  Her 
natives  are  cajoled  by  merchants  with  liquor  into  every 
conceivable  degradation.  The  influence  of  this  poison 
is  the  shame  of  that  helpless  nation,  while  the  thieving 
white  man  continues  to  plunder  her  soil  with  armies  in 
the  name  of  Christianity  and  civilization.  This,  by  allu 
sion,  is  merely  a  reference  to  the  lawless  trend.  At 
home,  as  a  result  of  the  saloon  license,  our  penitentiaries 


72  Our    Inheritance 

arc  crowded,  our  asylums  arc  filled ;  the  fallen  women 
swarm  like  bees  in  the  alleys  and  dungeons  of  disgrace. 
If  we  are  going  to  stop  lawlessness  we  must  begin  where 
it  starts.  Our  pretenses  of  pride  are  false;  our  claim  of 
honor  is  base ;  orr  allusion  to  greatness  is  barren,  while 
in  our  midst  we  tolerate  institutions  of  lying,  liquor  and 
thieving. 

In  t'.iis  drama  of  wickedness,  the  plot,  the  cast  and  the 
designing  characters  are  white  men,  whose  love  of 
money  would  bequeath  to  mankind  a  state  of  moral  de 
bauchery,  a  country  of  prostitutes,  lunatics,  criminals 
and  thieves.  So  ardent  has  been  their  zeal,  that  they 
have  included  the  Negro,  that  the  last  penny  shall  be 
wrung  from  society  to  assist  and  to  complete  its  de 
struction.  T  don't  believe  in  legal  privileges  that  give 
one  man  the  power  to  make  a  criminal  of  another.  The 
Negro  does  not  need  a  saloon.  It  would  be  an  act  of 
humanity,  a  blessing  to  the  race,  an  atonement  to  God, 
if  the  authorities  in  every  city  in  the  Union,  where  liquor 
is  sold  by  the  Negro,  would  revoke  such  license.  Be 
cause  he  (the  Negro),  being  the  weaker  member  of 
society,  needs  every  force,  every  dollar  and  every  man 
of  his  race  to  assist  in  building  a  defensive  power  in  this 
age  of  special  competition.  It  has  been  said,  "It  is  better 
that  the  ninety  and  nine  go  free,  than  the  conviction  of 
one  innocent  man."  It  is  better  that  a  few  selfish  mem 
bers  of  the  race  be  deprived  of  their  business  privilege, 
if  it  calls  for  the  sacrifice  of  their  brother's  honor,  than 


The    Lawless    Trend.  73 

that  a  single  man  or  woman  of  that  race  should  suffer  by 
such  influence. 

The  toleration  of  degradation  and  crime  in  the  Negro 
race  is  against  the  wishes  of  her  intelligent  members. 
The  success  of  the  Nation  depends  upon  the  enforce 
ment  of  every  law  on  the  statute  books  against  crime. 
The  criminal  element  of  each  race  is  adverse  to  progress ; 
and  the  interest  of  civilization  is  conserved  by  honest, 
fearless  and  expedient  administration  of  Justice ;  there 
fore,  let  each  man  awake  to  duty,  knowing  the  responsi 
bility  he  owes  to  his  home,  his  country  and  his  God, 
which  requires  Love,  Honor  and  Truth;  for  what  will 
be  an  excuse  for  crime,  will  be  a  stain  on  the  Nation's 
honor.  A  successful  government  cannot  be  run  as  long 
as  the  Nation  is  dishonest.  The  black  man  can  assist  the 
white  man,  the  white  man  can  help  the  black  man,  if 
the  principles  of  right  shall  rule.  If  the  dishonest  Negro 
is  chosen  by  the  white  man  for  an  honorable  post,  be 
cause,  as  we  say,  "he  can  be  used,"  what  is  the  incen 
tive  for  an  honest  man  to  upright  conduct? 

To  be  successful  in  this  age,  must  a  man  be  dishonest? 
It  is  said  by  many  that  the  black  man  is  dishonest.  Let 
us  see  what  is  the  incentive  to  make  him  honest.  First, 
lie  meets  the  color  line ;  second,  he  has  no  capital ;  and 
third,  he  is  outlawed  from  industrial  arts  by  organized 
labor,  or  the  labor  trust.  He  has  nothing  to  start  with; 
his  parents  are  poor;  and,  as  we  might  say,  they  were 
slaves  and  could  give  him  no  start.  Fourth,  he  has  an 
•education.  A  strange  condition  and  one  without  paral- 


74  Our    Inheritance. 

lei.  His  education  calls  for  better  living';  it  kindles  the 
fires  of  his  latent  forces,  it  renews  his  energies  until 
ambition  arises  to  feel  the  keenest  insult  hurled  in  his 
way.  Like  a  plant,  he  tries  to  grow,  but  the  soil  around 
him  is  barren  :  the  color  line,  the  empty  pocket  and  the 
labor  trust.  What  can  he  do?  He  wishes  to  live,  not 
die.  Often  lie  is  forced  to  leave  the  sphere  of  his  long 
ing  to  trample  restless  in  the  ways  of  poverty  in  search 
of  bread.  If  he  is  employed  as  a  porter,  or  a  waiter, 
or  as  a  similar  servant,  he  has  no  chance  to  rise.  Porters 
are  always  porters  and  waiters  are  always  waiters.  So, 
then,  wherever  employed,  he  fails  to  reach  the  position 
of  trust.  Is  he  honest,  or  is  he  dishonest?  If  dishonest, 
then  another  crime  shall  be  added  to  the  long  list  of 
indictments  of  the  white  race.  Then  if  those  who  govern 
will  prevent  the  growth  of  this  plant  life,  what  shall  the 
future  be?  What  shall  the  Negro  do?  The  protection 
and  defense  of  home  must  be  strengthened.  Our  privi 
lege  to  honorable  living  must  not  be  denied.  One's 
chances  to  become  a  man  must  increase  with  the  age  in 
which  he  lives. 

Would  to  God  that  idleness  could  be  erased  from  the 
face  of  the  earth.  It  is  the  curse  of  any  race  or  nation  ! 
With  the  Negro,  as  with  the  white  man,  we  have  this 
element  to  contend  with.  The  spirit  of  honest  men  should 
be  to  force  upon  all  society  that  condition  which  will 
require  of  all  men  responsibilities  and  duties  relative  to 
the  condition  of  citizenship.  The  fact  that  a  large  popu- 


The    Lawless    Trend.  75 

lation    exists    which    refuses    to   assume    the   burden    of 
citizenship  ought  to  bring  forth  rigid  inquiry. 

Moral  cleanliness  is  as  necessary  as  physical  cleanli 
ness.  We  may  pave  our  streets,  light  our  cities,  establish 
costly  sewerage,  build  good  roads,  erect  fine  homes,  busi 
ness  blocks,  etc.,  and  rigidly  enforce  the  discipline  of 
public  health,  yet  the  work  is  but  partly  completed,  and 
will  not  be  until  we  suppress  the  mites  and  kill  the 
vermin  that  affect  the  morals  of  our  society.  Beastly 
institutions  of  immorality  exist,  and  have  found  a  lodge 
ment  under  legal  sanction  !  Who  says  that  criminal  insti 
tutions  can  be  legalized  ?  Under  what  code  does  civili 
zation  license  crime0  Under  the  right  of  Divine  Law, 
under  the  right  of  the  Civil  Code,  all  acts  that  are 
prejudicial  to  the  peace  and  dignity  of  society  are  punish 
able  by  the  rules  of  society.  Therefore,  those  resorts 
that  exist  for  the  folly  and  vice  of  mankind,  those  places 
that  establish  prostitution,  idleness  and  vicious  pleasure, 
those  places  that  offer  money  for  a  woman's  honor, 
and  sensuality  for  man's  dignity,  are  the  breeding  places 
of  immoral  beings  and  the  last  ditch  this  side  of  hell. 
A  nation  without  honor  is  the  vilification  of  God!  A 
woman  without  virtue  is  the  infamy  of  hell!  And  yet 
we  tolerate  institutions  among  us  that  create  them.  So, 
then,  it  is  confirmed  that  the  strong  shall  lead  the  weak 
to  right,  to  light,  to  happiness,  and  to  usefulness. 


The  Negro  Soldier 


Chapter  riff. 

TO  read  the  history  of  the  negro  soldier  is  to  dwell 
in  Nature's  sublimes!  attitude.  For  deeds  of  chivalry 
and  heroism,  history  has  failed  to  record  events  more 
touching  than  those  that  relate  to  him — a  defender  of 
the  Nation  and  a  contestant  for  freedom.  His  instincts 
for  right  have  impelled  his  enlistment  as  a  soldier  in 
every  conflict  of  our  times. 

He  was  with  Washington's  army,  with  Jackson  at  New 
Orleans,  with  Sherman  at  Atlanta,  with  Grant  at  Rich 
mond.  He  was  at  Port  Hudson,  Milliken  Bend,  Fort 
Pillow,  Fort  Wagner  and  Petersburg.  He  was  with 
Dewey  at  Manila,  Sampson  and  Schley  at  Santiago,  and 
the  American  forces  in  the  Philippines.  His  blind  zeal 
for  duty  leads  him  on  to  the  Goal  of  Fame,  where  friend 
and  foe  alike  laud  his  valor.  He  was  never  a  traitor, 
nor  a  coward ;  he  was  always  cheerful  and  content  in 
the  hours  of  trial ;  he  was  ever  immune  to  the  hardships 
of  Fate;  the  miseries  of  war  was  but  a  trial  of  his  en 
durance. 

On  the  brightest  pages  of  history  we  see  the  name  of 
the  noble  Christopher  Attucks — and  he  a  Negro  and  a 
slave.  'Twas  he  who,  with  two  others,  shed  the  first 
blood  on  the  altar  of  Liberty  for  American  independence. 
I  le,  grand  and  sublime  in  his  noble  effort,  helped  to 
withstand  the  attacks  of  the  British  and  to  overthrow 
their  tvrannical  rule.  One  of  the  most  thrillinsr  battles 


SO  Gnr    Inheritance. 

was  fought  on  the  fifth  of  April,  1770,  that  of  the  "Boston 
Massacre,"  in  which  the  Negro  distinguished  himself  as 
an  American  soldier.  With  the  spirit  of  immortal  free- 
doom  he  cries,  "The  way  to  get  rid  of  these  soldiers  i< 
to  strike  at  the  main  guard  !  Strike  at  the  root — this 
is  the  nest !"  Thus  the  knot  that  held  America  a  British 
subject  was  severed  once  and  forever!  Then  like  wild 
fire  the  spirit  of  freedom  spread.  More  than  3000 
Negroes  fought  for  the  Nation's  independence  in  her 
first  struggle. 

"The  records  of  the  War  Department  show  that  there 
were  178,595  colored  men  regularly  enlisted  as  soldiers 
in  the  Union  Army  during  the  Rebellion,  who,  by  good 
conduct,  established  a  commendable  record,  and  did  effi 
cient  service  in  camp,  fortress  and  field.  The  first  enlist 
ment  of  the  Negroes  was  by  General  Hunter  in  the  De 
partment  of  the  South  in  June,  1862.  It  was  made  with 
out  authority  from  the  War  Department,  and  was  due 
to  emergency."  Thanks  be  to  God  that  the  mantle  of 
courage,  bravery  and  honor  was  a  test  of  the  black  man's. 
He  dared  to  face  the  cannon's  mouth,  defying  death 
for  the  institution  of  law  and  government.  He  trod  the 
bloody  field  of  battle  in  hope  of  no  reward  save  that  the 
"Flag  of  the  Free"  should  never  trail  in  the  dust,  and 
willingly  sacrified  his  blood  for  the  honor  of  his  country. 
'Twas  a  grand  spectacle,  these  negro  soldiers  :  a  vast 
army,  equipped  with  the  Nation's  cannon  and  backed 
by  the  principles  of  manhood.  Ah !  they  waited  im 
patient  for  the  order  to  defend  the  Flag  that  had  suf- 


The   Negro    Soldier.  81 

{••red  their  persecution.  They  felt  that  the  stars  of  Old 
Glory  were  as  true  as  the  stars  that  shine ;  they  knew 
her  crimson  stripes  were  the  token  of  the  blood  of  fallen 
heroes ;  they  knew  that  the  blue  was  the  purity  of  the 
heavens.  Hence,  they  never  faltered,  being  righteous  in 
heart  and  true  in  hope.  They  looked  beyond  the  dim 
and  tumult,  and  beheld  the  Glory  of  God  and  freedom  of 
mankind ! 

When  President  Lincoln  reviewed  the  black  patriots 
on  their  way  to  the  field  of  battle,  as  they  marched 
through  Washington,  20,000  strong,  for  the  campaign  of 
Virginia,  he  was  struck  by  their  soldierly  bearing,  their 
cheerful  hopes  for  freedom  and  their  ''Hurrahs  for  Mr. 
Lincoln !"  which  meant  the  Union.  The  scene  was 
enough  to  kindle  the  soul  to  emotions  of  great  pity,  and 
tears  fell  from  the  eyes  of  the  noble  Lincoln,  who 
had  been  converted  to  the  belief  that  the  slave  should  be 
rewarded  his  freedom  and  that  the  question  of  the  Union 
was  a  question  of.  slavery. 

Can  any  mind  paint  the  picture  of  the  deep  enthusiasm 
of  the  Negro  soldier  in  1862?  Events  followed  events, 
like  the  waves  that  sweep  the  restless  sea.  One  day  the 
Negro  was  a  slave  with  chains  about  his  feet,  the  next 
he  was  clad  in  the  uniform  of  his  country,  and  shortly  he 
became  acclaimed  a  hero  and  a  martyr.  When  the  order 
went  forth  giving  him  a  citizen's  right  and  a  soldier's 
honor,  his  enthusiasm  knew  no  bounds.  By  what  shall 
we  compare  this  new  found  hope  of  freedom?  Shall  it 
not  be  exalted  courage,  heroism,  ardent  zeal  and  true 


82  Our   Inheritance. 

bravery?  O,  tell  me,  pray,  where  human  impulse  ever 
beat  with  such  deep  penetration?  Was  this  the  spirit  of 
the  troops  of  Caesar  as  they  laid  waste  to  Carthage? 
Was  it  the  courage  of  Hannibal  and  his  million  con 
querors  ?  Was  it  the  feeling  of  Napoleon's  army  in  his 
conquest  of  Europe?  Was  it  the  dominant  will  of 
Lord  Cornwallis"  men  ?  The  strength  of  the  soldiers  of 
Frederick  the  Great?  No!  None  other  than  the  famed 
heroism  of  George  Washington  and  his  patriots  and 
tiie  Blacks  themselves  as  they  marched  forth  in  their 
immortal  strength  to  defeat  tyranny  and  oppression  and 
to  uphold  law,  order  and  the  American  Flag. 

Like  shaft  of  light,  from  noon-day  sun, 
With  efforts  heroic,  a  battle  won ! 
Freedom  kindled  the  black  man's  soul, 
Justice  his  motto,  Liberty  his  goal ! 
Enthusiasm  built  her  fires  at  last 
Where  courage  held  her  strong  and  fast ! 

His  soul  alive  in  battle  array, 
No  strength  e'er  this  power  could  stay ! 
The  pent-up  fury  of  raging  storm 
Sweeps  its  course  from  night  till  morn! 
The  thrill  of  ocean  wave  we  see, 
Awakes  fond  hope  of  liberty ! 

His  strength  moved  his  whole  being  into  one  insepa 
rable  courageous  manhood.     Heroism  was  but  a  svnonvm 


The    Nc^ro    Soldier.  83 

for  his  valor,  but  an  allusion  to  his  courage.  Back  of 
him  was  the  conviction  of  ultimate  freedom  for  man 
kind. 

With  such  pent-up  forces  the  Negro  soldier  entered 
the  battlefield,  not  with  hollow  mockery  of  soldier  pomp, 
but  freedom  and  liberty  imbued  in  his  soul.  Thus  he 
crowned  the  bloodstained  field  with  the  blood  of  a 
martyr ! 

When  the  first  gun  echoed  the  assault  on  Fort  Sumpter, 
he  was  ready,  he  was  willing;  and  he  begged  to  be  en 
listed  as  a  defender  of  the  Nation.  And  when  the  last 
battle  was  fought  he  led  the  triumphant  forces  into 
wreaths  of  victory.  Generous  as  a  soldier  and  magnani 
mous  as  a  foe,  not  chargeable  to  him  is  one  deed  of  dis 
honor. 

After  the  grim  roar  of  the  deafening  cannon  at  Peters 
burg,  the  fame  of  the  valiant  negro  troops  was  heralded 
to  .the  world.  Friends  were  jubilant,  while  foes  were 
astounded  at  the  strength  of  his  courage.  When  the 
order  "Charge !"  went  forth,  not  a  man  faltered.  But 
on,  and  on,  to  duty !  Freedom  his  reward !  When  the 
blood  of  the  slave  subdued  the  tyrant  of  slavery,  Heaven 
proclaimed,  from  her  highest  portals,  universal  freedom 
for  mankind ! 

'Twas  a  negro  sergeant,  William  Casey,  at  Fort  Wag 
ner,  carrying  regimental  colors  of  his  battalion,  who 
ascended  the  wails  of  that  fort  and  planted  the  colors 
there.  Amid  shot  and  shell  he  kept  the  colors  flying ! 
He  was  wounded  twice  at  his  post,  but  when  taken  to 


Our    Inlicritance. 

the  hospital  where  his  comrades  lay  wounded  they 
cheered  him  and  his  colors ;  and  although  he  was  nearly 
exhausted  from  the  loss  of  blood,  he  said,  "Roys,  the  old 
flag  never  touched  the  ground."  In  every  engagement 
the  negro  soldier  was  accredited  with  heroism. 

On  another  occasion  a  negro  sergeant,  being  com 
manded  to  protect,  defend  and  die  for  the  Flag,  rather 
than  surrender  it,  replied,  "Colonel,  I  will  bring  these 
colors  back  to  you  in  honor  or  report  to  God  the  reason 
why."  At  Port  Hudson  his  colors  were  literally  torn 
to  pieces  by  shot  and  bespattered  with  brains  and  blood, 
and  this  noble  hero  died  hugging  the  colors  to  his  breast. 
At  the  battle  of  Wilson's  Wharf,  when  the  word  "Fire !" 
went  forth,  southern  chivalry  quailed  before  the  north 
ern  bullets  by  negro  hands.  Volley  after  volley  rained 
upon  the  superior  by  the  inferior  race,  and  "chivalry 
broke  to  run."  Thus  endless  are  the  deeds  of  honor 
accredited  to  the  negro  soldier,  who  knows  no  cause 
but  Justice,  and  who  loves  no  principle  but  right ! 

We  call  attention  to  the  time  when  the  cry  "Cuba 
Libre"  broke  forth  on  the  American  tongue,  and  to  the 
well-known  fact  how  the  negro  soldier  eagerly  sought 
his  place  in  advancing  civilization.  Thus  proven  is  a 
fact  that  righteous  hope  of  freedom  dwells  in  the  black 
man's  soul.  He  organized  to  go  forth  in  another  land 
that  the  ends  of  Justice  might  be  secured  to  a  nation  of 
down-trodden  men.  Again  we  see  the  sublime  spectacle : 
face  to  face  with  Death,  he  earns  the  honored  crown 
of  hero.  The  battle  of  San  Juan  Hill  is  well  known  to 


The   Negro    Soldier.  85 

every  reader  of  history.  Negro  troops  were  first  to  plant 
the  Stars  and  Stripes  on  a  Spanish  fortress  in  Cuba. 
With  rousing  enthusiasm  they,  the  Twenty-fifth  Infantry 
(Negroes)  charged  the  Spanish  blockhouse  at  El  Caney, 
July  1..  1898,  and  Private  T.  C.  Butler,  Company  II,  was 
the  first  man  to  enter  it  and  take  possession  of  the  Span 
ish  flag.  This  was  a  task  of  daring  and  courage  that 
heralded  again  the  fame  of  the  negro  troops  around 
the  world.  ]t  was  near  this  place  that  the  intrepid,  reso 
lute  and  fearless  Theodore  Roosevelt  (now  our  ex-Presi 
dent),  with  others,  owe  their  lives  to  the  brave  conduct 
of  the  negro  regiments,  the  Ninth  and  Tenth  Cavalry. 
That  the  spirit  of  the  African  race,  from  which  came 
the  negro  soldier,  possesses  the  deepest  charms  for  lib 
erty,  that  he  has  always  vindicated  that  honor,  I  will 
quote  one  of  America's  greatest  thinkers :  "There  never 
was  a  race  held  in  actual  chains  that  vindicated  its  own 
liberty,  but  one.  There  never  was  a  serf,  nor  a  slave 
whose  own  sword  cut  off  his  own  chain,  but  one.  Blue- 
eyed,  light-haired  Anglo-Saxon,  it  was  not  our  race.  We 
were  serfs  for  three  centuries ;  and  we  waited  until 
commerce  and  Christianity  and  different  laws  had  melted 
our  fetters.  We  were  crowded  down  into  a  village 
which  crushed  out  our  manhood  so  thoroughly  that  we 
had  not  vigor  left  to  redeem  ourselves.  Neither  France 
nor  Spain,  northern  or  southern  races  of  Europe,  have 
that  bright  spot  on  their  escutcheon,  that  they  put  an 
end  to  their  own  slavery.  Blue-eyed,  haughty,  con 
temptuous  Anglo-Saxon,  it  was  the  black,  the  only  race 


86  Our    Inheritance. 

on  record  of  history,  even  after  a  century  of  oppression, 
retained  the  vigor  to  write  the  chapter  of  its  emancipation 
with  its  own  ,  hand  in  the  blood  of  the  dominant  race. 
Despised,  calumniated,  slandered  San  Domingo  'is  the 
only  instance  in  history  where  a  race  with  indestructi 
ble  love  of  liberty,  after  bearing  a  hundred  years  of 
oppression,  rose  up  under  their  own  leader  and  with  their 
own  hands  wrested  chains  from  their  own  limbs.  Wait, 
garrulous,  ignorant,  boasting  Saxon,  till  you  have  one- 
half  as  much  before  you  talk  of  the  black  race/  " 


The  Negro's  Faith 


Chapter  IX. 

HAYING  shown  that  lawlessness  comes  as  a  part  of 
our  inheritance,  we  will  therefore  consider  with 
equal  care  that  which  becomes  a  tribute  to  our  trend 
toward  higher  civilization. 

First,  Christianity:  the  right  of  religious  freedom, 
has  found  her  greatest  liberties  in  the  United  States. 
The  founders  of  this  Government  have  shown  their 
wisdom,  courage  and  genius  in  adopting  a  constitution 
of  religious  tolerance ;  therefore,  the  growth  of  religious 
influence  is  commensurate  with  our  development  in  every 
line  of  progress.  Assembled  in  every  community  are  the 
various  sects  of  religious  worship,  without  aught  to 
mar  their  activities.  No  racial  conflict  of  sects,  no  dis 
qualifications,  or  discords  because  of  belief ;  but  for  one 
and  the  same  end,  to  save  the  soul — are  their  energies 
bent.  In  fact,  the  tendencies  are  for  a  universal  belief; 
and,  because  of  her  freedom,  the  ascendency  of  Christian 
influence  becomes  the  general  aim. 

There  is  no  question  of  vital  importance  which  affects 
the  Nation  that  can  be  amicably  and  properly  settled 
without  the  influence  of  the  church.  This  does  not  mean 
that  the  church  dominates  politics,  but  her  membership 
and  her  influence  are  the  strongest  factors  in  modern 
legislation.  Then,  instead  of  hindering  progress,  herself 
both  aggressive  and  free,  she  lends  civilization  her 
greatest  power.  For  naught  would  be  a  worth}'  aim,  a 


90  Our    Inheritance. 

national  law  or  a  compact,  unless  imbued  with  deep  Chris 
tian  principles ;  thus   Christianity  benefits  mankind.      In 
all  we  have  207,707  churches  in  the  United  States,  with 
32,283,658  communicants.     It  shows  God's  light  and  up 
lifting-  spirit,  also  progressiveness  and  strength.   Thus  we 
behold  a  Christian  era  and  a  Christian  nation.     That  our 
record    is    unequaled,    no   one    can    dispute.      From    the 
207,707  churches  we  see  the  grand  spectacle  of  the  negro 
Christian  progress.     There  are  23,770  Negro  churches, 
with  seating  capacity  of  six  million,  eight  hundred  thou 
sand.     It  has  2,673,977  communicants ;  this  property  is 
valued   at  $26,626,448.     This   is   the  triumphant   march 
of  progress  since  the  birth  of  freedom !     'Tis  the  songs 
and  prayers  of  these  thousands  in  their  praise  to   God 
that  revealeth  to  mankind  the  depth  of  Divine  love.  They, 
like  the  patriots  of  old,  from  the  mouth  breatheth  the 
spirit  of  the  soul.     Hence,  every  one  loves  to  hear  the 
Negro  sing.     In  his  sad  moments  the  oracle  of  his  voice 
is   the   depth    of   sublime    inspiration.      We   were   quiet, 
thoughtful   and   serene   when    from   the   stage   he   sang, 
"Swing   Low7,    Sweet    Chariot,"    and   other   melodies   of 
pathos,   with   such   harmony   and   spirit   until   the   world 
was  charmed  with  the  beauty  of  the  song — even  were 
they  sang  in  Europe.    Again,  in  the  pliant  mood  of  hap 
piness    from    him    come    the    witticisms  that  startle  all 
with  laughter.     Ragtime  is  a  distinct  character  of  negro 
genius  and  forms   amusement   for  the  world's  millions. 
In  our    spirit    of    joyfulness  we  hail  this  negro  wit   in 
acclaimed  happiness.      It   is  this   factor  that  marks   the 


The    Negro's    Fai-lt.  91 

Negroes'  usefulness  in  the  development  of  this  growing- 
Nation.  The  Nation  is  not  going  backward,  but  for 
ward.  She  contributes  millions  in  money  annually  for 
foreign  missions — showing  the  breadth  of  our  love  for 
God  and  humanity.  We  hail  His  command,  "Preach  My 
gospel  unto  every  creature."  The  revelation  of  God's 
spirit  preserved  the  vital  forces  of  the  negro  race  during 
its  period  in  slavery.  Divine  Providence  delivered  him ! 
And  his  strength  to-day  enables  him  to  grapple  with  the 
tide  of  modern  progress.  Christianity  alone  as  an  estate 
for  the  white  man  and  the  black  man  insures  American 
progress,  development  and  strength.  What  would  the 
world  be  without  her  Savior?  What  would  the  Nation 
be  without  her  God?  All  she  has  gained  through  cen 
turies  endless  struggles,  from  barbarism  to  civilization, 
from  heathendom  to  Christianity,  from  primitive  hut  to 
the  palace  of  Arts,  from  the  ox  team  to  the  veritable 
moving  palace  propelled  by  steam  and  electricity,  from 
ancient  to  modern,  would  be  lost  unless  maintained  under 
the  light  and  influence  of  Christianity. 

EDUCATION. 
Onward!     Onward!     Forever  on, 

O,  great  Eternal  light! 
This  earth  redeem !  This  earth  redeem ! 

From  dim  of  pagan  night. 
Lead  on,  O  light !  uplifting  man 

To  ways  of  usefulness ; 
As  long  as  day  doth  follow  night, 

Shine  forth  Eternal  lieht ! 


92  Onr    Inheritance. 

With  254,076  public  schools  and  16,641,970  pupils  and 
439,596  teachers,  the  picture  eclipses  all  other  nations  in 
magnitude  of  grandeur.  Never  before  in  the  world's 
history  has  education  been  the  property  of  every  man. 
Nor  can  any  man  with  a  single  thought  imagine  the 
onward  sweep  of  her  power. 

The  tide  of  education,  like  the  million  waves  of  the 
sea,  carry  us  on  and  on  and  on.  Perhaps,  on  the  distant 
shores  of  yonder  horizon,  the  edifice  of  knowledge  will 
be  the  noon-tide  of  a  generation  of  men,  who  in  pride 
and  power  will  reduce  this  earth  and  her  laws  to  that 
final  ecstatic  life,  where  our  civilization  will  reflect  as 
tiny  raindrops  from  the  clouds  of  Celestial  Sunshine. 
Education  is  the  second  bulwark  of  the  Nation. 

Of  the.  total  number  of  16,641,970  pupils  attending 
the  public  schools,  more  than  a  million  are  negro  chil 
dren;  1,096,734  attended  public  schools,  17,138  attended 
higher  schools  of  learning.  If  anyone  doubts  the  sin 
cerity  of  the  Negro  to  become  permanent  and  useful, 
he  need  but  visit  his  schoolroom.  The  pupils  are  bright, 
enthusiastic,  scholarly  and  hopeful. 

Their  instructors  are  courageous,  brave  and  honorable. 
With  this  balance  of  power  bent  upon  upright  conduct, 
it  is  needless  to  say  that  this  Nation  will  become  freer 
and  nobler.  Born  in  the  school  of  adversities,  reared  in 
the  home  of  trials  and  the  throes  of  poverty,  with  fortune 
against  him,  he  can  but  be  strong  for  the  conflict  to 
come. 

We  have  already  produced  one  of  the  greatest  charac- 


The    Negro's    faith.  93 

ters  of  the  century,  the  lion.  Booker  T.  Washington,  a 
genius,  a  scholar,  a  philosopher,  and  a  gentleman !  To 
his  credit  we  must  attribute  the  adoption  of  one  of  the 
greatest  schools  of  the  century.  And  he  is  a  Negro — 
and,  furthermore,  an  ex-slave !  He  is  practical,  thorough 
and  useful ;  so  much  so,  that  the  world  to-day  places  upon 
his  head  the  honored  crown  of  Doctor  of  Philosophy. 
He  has  carved  the  hard  stone  of  Fate  and  found  the 
instrument  of  man's  most  useful  learning.  To-day  civili 
zation  is  interested  in  the  man  and  in  his  school. 

Millions  and  millions  annually  are  spent  in  the  United 
States,  for  the  education  of  her  youths'  scholarship  in 
America  is  as  necessary  as  the  air  one  breathes  ;  and  as 
we  progress,  it  becomes  more  and  more  important.  If 
anyone  doubts  the  future  of  America,  we  can  but  ask 
his  consideration  of  the  fact,  that  each  day  sixteen  mil 
lion  children  soar  higher  and  higher  in  mental  develop 
ment.  Each  day,  we  may  say,  illiteracy  becomes  more 
and  more  extinct — illustrating  the  power  of  courage, 
freedom  and  independence.  If,  with  all  humility,  each 
day  we  would  offer  to  our  Creator  our  deepest  prayer 
for  the  departed  heroes  of  American  independence,  it 
would  but  faintly  answer  in  tokens  of  gratitude  our  re 
spect  for  the  founders  of  this  estate.  Nature,  how  won 
derful!  The  seas,  the  skies,  the  earth,  and  all  are  made 
our  useful  agencies.  The  world  was  once  to  man  obscure 
and  doubtful.  He  dreaded  the  seas  ;  the  skies  were  a 
mystery  to  him  ;  the  earth  was  unknown.  Hut,  ah  !  to-day, 


94  Our    Inheritance. 

as  God  intended  it  to  be,  they  are  the  powers  of  our  re 
sourcefulness. 

The  printing  press,  the  railroads  and  electricity  mark 
the  days  of  modern  progress.  The  seas,  the  skies,  the 
earth  and  all  have  proven  their  worth  through  science 
to  mankind.  And  her  development  continues.  In  scien 
tific  progress,  America  leads  the  world. 

Our  wealth  can  hardly  be  stated  in  figures,  and 
continues  to  grow.  In  1907,  the  wealth  of  the  United 
States  was  $116,000,000,000.  The  causes  of  these  teem 
ing  millions  each  year  to  our  vast  resources  are  Chris 
tianity,  science,  industry  and  education.  From  a  few 
old  wooden  crafts  in  1860  to  the  most  splendid  navy  in 
the  world  in  1908,  is  our  advancement  that  astonishes 
civilization.  From  Hampton  Roads  to  San  Francisco 
we  marshalled  the  greatest  armada  ever  assembled  under 
one  flag;  and  today  the  nations  of  the  earth  are  greeting 
this  invincible  force  with  acclamations  of  joy.  Uncle 
Sam,  "policeman  of  the  ocean,"  is  not  saying  too  much. 
Above  every  Consulate  in  the  world,  wafted  by  the  gentle 
breeze  of  the  tropics  and  sub-tropics,  by  the  winds  of  the 
Arctic  and  Antarctic,  over  forty-four  States,  over  every 
public  building,  over  every  schoolhouse,  from  the  mast 
head  of  a  thousand  ships  in  every  clime,  floats  Old  Glory ! 

Wave  on,  O  Flag  of  our  bright  hope 

'Neath  bright  and  stormy  skies ! 
Wave  on,  our  greatest  powers  awake 

As  rich  thy  colors  fly. 


The    Negro's    Faith.  95 

No  greater  gift  could  God  give  man. 

Or,  man  to  man  e'er  give ; 
By  every  hope  She's  blessed  to  live. 

Wave  on,  for  every  man ! 

Since  the  days  of  Washington,  the  Nation  has  shown 
a  growing  strength  of  independence,  a  spirit  of  progress 
and  an  aptitude  for  right  and  Justice.  At  times  clouds 
of  doubt  have  arisen  to  obscure  the  light.  Men  with 
destructive  tendencies  have  come  forth  with  treason  in 
their  hearts  and  destruction  in  their  minds.  But,  like 
the  pyramids  of  Egypt,  the  foundation  of  our  State  was 
built  to  stand  the  test.  Scarcely  was  her  foundation  laid, 
when  came  the  onslaught  of  cannon  and  fire.  But  ah !  her 
foundation  work  was  built  upon  the  principles  of  self- 
conviction  in  the  hearts  of  honest  men :  hence,  it  remained 
secure  and  firm.  And  the  severity  of  the  test  only  deep 
ened  the  purpose  of  truthful  minds  to  build  higher,  nobler 
and  broader. 

The  pyramids  of  Egypt  are  built  of  stone,  but  the  pyra 
mids  of  the  American  Government  are  the  noble  prin 
ciples  of  freedom  built  upon  the  hearts  and  deeds  of 
honest  men.  The  skill  of  the  architect  who  erected  these 
giant  pyramids  for  the  Pharoahs  was  no  greater  than 
the  skill  of  the  statesmen  who  compiled  the  American 
Constitution  for  the  American  citizen.  The  former 
planned  with  the  brains  of  a  thousand  preceding  years. 
Their  plans  were  the  genius  of  a  pre-historic  man.  Our 
plan  is  the  conformation  of  the  world's  greatest  patriots 


and  thinkers,  and  dates  from  time  immemorial.  Their 
structure  outlived  a  thousand  generations  ;  ours  will  with 
stand  the  coming  ages.  When  we  gaze  upon  her  mighty 
columns,  we  are  struck  by  their  grandeur ;  when  the 
future  generations  shall  look  upon  our  Constitution,  a 
monument  of  human  greatness,  they  will  be  inspired  by 
its  magnificence.  Let  Egypt's  pyramids  forever  stand  as 
an  example  of  her  civilization  ;  and  the  American  Consti 
tution  live  through  God's  eternity.  Then  let  us  pay 
to  the  world  our  gratitude ;  to  the  old  and  to  the  new. 
For  our  victorious  struggle  for  independence,  to  God  we 
will  give  thanks ;  for  a  successful  struggle  for  the  Union 
to  Him  we  will  give  praise ;  for  our  pilgrimage  from  a 
slave-ridden  British  subject  to  a  nation  of  free  thinking 
men,  we  shall  bow  in  fervent  worship  to  Him  the  Ruler 
of  the  Universe,  and  declare  Washington,  Jeffersonr 
Adams,  Monroe,  Franklin  et  al.,  the  builders  of  the 
American  pyramids ! 

Our  great  men  of  today,  Theodore  Roosevelt,  William 
H.  Taft,  Booker  T.  Washington,  Andrew  Carnegie,  Pier- 
pont  Morgan,  C.  W.  Elliott  of  Harvard,  John  D.  Rocke 
feller,  E.  H.  Harriman,  T.  A.  Edison,  are  the  exponents 
of  American  energy  and  progressivencss. 

A  man  should  be  proud  of  his  birth  as  an  American 
citizen.  He  should  be  enthusiastic  as  a  freeholder  of 
this  great  estate.  It  should  be  his  aspiration  to  transmit 
to  his  posterity  this  inheritance  in  its  entirety,  more 
advanced,  freer  .and  nobler,  with  not  a  single  act  of  his 


The    Negro's    Paiih.  97 

life   to   blight   her   honor,    nor   a   thought   which    might 
recoil  against  her  greatness. 

Jim  Crowism,  anarchism  and  all  forms  of  disloyalty 
should  not  present  a  serious  problem  to  honest  men.  In 
the  future,  as  in  the  past,  we  have  "steadily  gained  an 
ascendency  over  mere  brutal  force ;  and  irrepressible 
are  the  powers  of  moral  suasion  which  emanate  from  the 
grandeur  of  the  Nation's  pyramids'. 


Philosophy  of  Nature 


Chapter  X. 

O  sing,  ye  muses  sing,  for  joy! 
The  gladdened  springtime  praise. 

WITH  the  Negro  this  is  springtime.  A  newer  life 
his  soul  doth  sing.  Nature  bids  him  come  forth 
again.  O,  Nations,  heed  his  coming!  You  may  strive 
with  resolute  power,  you  may  hope  with  all  of  human 
aspirations,  you  may  portray  with  genius  and  paint  with 
sublime  touch,  but  you  cannot  rob  the  sun  of  his  glory, 
nor  the  stars  of  their  brightness,  nor  vegetation  of  its 
budding  beauty.  So  with  the  Negro,  human  strength, 
all  genius  combined,  cannot  destroy  the  soul  that  lives 
within. 

In  bondage  youth  he  silent  gave, 
His  mind  alert  on  future  gaze ; 
For  shackles  knew  he  soon  must  break, 
And  life  anew  his  soul  awake. 

Like  the  Sun  and  the  Stars,  the  powers  of  the  universe 
are  behind  his  efforts,  his  purpose  and  his  will ;  so,  there 
fore,  he,  too,  must  thrive.  Then,  O  God,  let  Thy  sun 
and  Thy  stars  forever  shine  forth  in  their  glory !  Let 
each  tree  and  each  flower  bloom  forth  in  Thy  splendor, 
let  vegetation  bud  forth  in  Thy  sweetness,  and  at  last 
shall  humanity  come  forth :  the  white  man  and  the  black 
man  with  advancing  civilization  in  the  fullness  of  Thy 


102  Ou?'    Inheritance. 

eternal  law !  Let  race  prejudice  live  in  its  decaying 
palace  and  crumbling  walls !  Let  it  thrive  its  ill-timed 
life  of  vaunted  pride  in  the  jungle  of  small  men's  brains. 
Prejudice,  unsustained  by  reason,  or  principle,  is  with 
out  support  of  Nature's  simplest  rule  and  cannot  sur 
vive  the  fixed  laws  of  the  universe. 

Its  powers  dwindle  like  the  light  of  a  fading  sun ;  not 
the  light  of  tomorrow,  but  the  one  of  yesterday. 

It  appeals  to  the  emptiness  of  caste,  which  sees  not 
the  beauty  of  the  Eternal.  Neither  by  its  strength  nor 
power  shall  it  sway  the  opinion  of  mankind.  Like  the 
dimness  of  the  parting  sun,  its  wormeaten  sceptre  wasting 
will  die.  It  shall  pass  away  to  the  skies  of  the  unknown. 

I  am  bound  by  the  decrees  of  Heaven  to  ask  and 
demand  Justice  as  a  recognition  of  merit !  And  I  ask 
the  wisdom  of  mankind  to  confirm  that  plea!  It  is  not 
the  advancement  of  the  Negro  so  much  as  it  is  the 
advancement  of  civilization  I  ask.  Let  him  go  ahead 
so  that  he  will  not  hinder  progress.  A  million  youth 
ful  eyes  today  are  watching,  waiting,  eager  to  bloom 
forth — a  new  life  of  usefulness  to  bless  this,  earth  in  the 
sweetness  of  their  lives.  Shall  their  coming  be? 

O  cherished  sweetness,  month  of  May ! 
Thy  peeping  buds  have  fullest  sway ; 
Our  open  hearts  and  loving  hands 
Smile  and  greet  thy  coming  bands. 

It  is  not  a  question  of  which  race  will  dominate  in 
America,  but  a  question  of  the  principles  of  the  men 


Philosophy    of   Nature.  103 

who  rule.  The  southern  white  man  bears  a  deep  resem 
blance  to  the  Indian  in  this  comparison.  It  is  said,  that 
when  the  Indian  showed  the  white  man  Niagara  Falls, 
he  uttered  in  his'  dialect  the  superstition  of  his  race. 
The  southern  white  man  in  speaking  of  the  Negro, 
writing  about  the  Negro,  and  lecturing  about  the  Negro, 
repeats  in  his  dialect  the  superstition  of  his  race.  Well, 
if  you  compare  the  Indian's  superstition  in  his  ignorance 
of  the  great  Niagara  with  the  ignorance  and  superstition 
of  the  southern  white  man  concerning  the  great  poten 
tial  poxvers  of  the  black  race,  we  should  have  enough 
philosophy  to  keep  us  laughing  a  year. 

Niagara  today  furnishes  light  for  twenty  million  people, 
and  motive  power  for  the  largest  manufacturing  center 
in  the  world.  Its  capability  is  that  of  many  thousand 
tons  of  fuel  energy  of  coal  every  year,  which  represents 
millions  of  dollars  annually  to  the  wealth  of  New  York 
state.  The  Indian  wras  afraid  of  this  abundance  of 
wealth.  It  required  brains  and  intellect  to  develop  the 
powders  of  Niagara,  this  inexhaustible  supply  of  one-time 
wasted  energy. 

So  with  the  Negro,  the  southern  Niagara,  brains  and 
intelligence  must  come  forth  to  develop  this  inexhaust 
ible  supply  of  wasting  powrer.  Chain  to  him  education  ; 
control  the  useful  factors  of  his  energies  with  honest 
legislation,  just  as  capitalists  have  proven  their  wisdom 
in  building  levees  and  machinery  to  control  Niagara. 

It  is  the  vigorous  spirit  of  progression  which  develops 
brains  instead  of  fear,  that  made  Niagara  one  of  the 


104  Our    Inheritance. 

principal  wealth  creators  of  the  world.  It  was  the  appli 
cation  of  that  intelligence  that  made  the  wasting'  energies 
of  a  mighty  river  the  magic  power  of  excessive  wealth. 
It  is  this  characteristic  of  Xew  York  state  that  makes 
her  the  world's  money  market.  People  go  to  New  York 
to  get  ideas.  How  about  the  Niagara  of  the  South?  A 
mighty  flow  of  human  energy  wasting !  They  fear  it ! 
They  hate  it !  The  roar  of  its  wasting  energies  is  the 
nightmare  of  impending  doom  !  A  thousand  times  stronger 
than  Niagara,  these  hardened  muscles  of  ten  million  peo 
ple,  alert,  active,  alive,  ready  for  the  interposition  of 
useful  brains.  With  this  vast  power  of  energy,  why  not 
the  South,  like  New  York,  harness  her  wealth  with  brains 
and  steel,  and  let  this  energy  develop  the  resourcefulness 
of  her  fertile  soil  ? 


UNIVEESITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 
BERKELEY 


THIS  BOOK  IS  DUE  ON  THE  LAST  DATE 
STAMPED  BELOW 

Books  not  returned  on  time  are  subject  to  a  fine  of 
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to  $1.00  per  volume  after  the  sixth  day.  Books  not  in 
demand  may  be  renewed  if  application  is  made  before 
expiration  of  loan  period. 


APR  231918 


50m-7,'16 


YB   12514 


183683 


